Haunted by Water
by D. M. Evans
Summary: crimes of today resurrect ghosts of the past. When Maes asks for Roy's help investigating arson and murder, Roy never expected to have to face his past or that they would have to find a killer before Edward is targeted.
1. Chapter 1

Haunted by Water  
Author – D M Evans  
Disclaimer- not mine, all rights belong to Ms. Arakawa  
Rating – FRM  
Genre- mystery, action  
Pairings – Roy/Riza, Maes/Gracia, Roy/Maes, Roy/Maes/Riza/Gracia  
Timeline/Spoilers – manga based, no direct spoilers except for Roy's parentage and things that happened in Ishbal. So hmmm, spoilers for anything past chapter 50  
Summary – crimes of today resurrect ghosts of the past. When Maes asks for Roy's help investigating arson and murder, Roy never expected to have to face his past or that they would have to find a killer before Edward is targeted.  
Warning – spoilers as noted above, implied sex (Het, m/m, threesome), violence, off screen rape and murder of young teens, arson, Roy & Ed's potty mouths.  
Author's notes – This was written for the FMA_big_bang challenge on livejournal. this was very hard to finish in time. The plot was expansive. Thanks to everyone who helped me knuckle down and finish. Thanks to Betas –S J Smith & Bob_fish. Check out my livejournal (cornerofmadness) to see the fully adult chapters and art

Chapter One

Roy shifted on the seat, his thigh overly warm from Hayate using it as a bed. It didn't mesh well with his numb butt and overall irritation. Across from him, Breda still looked like he might have another panic attack, almost as if he thought Hayate would leap from the train seat where he was wedged between his favorite people and attack the soldier. Roy trailed his fingers through the dog's fur. Hayate had his head on Riza's lap and he envied the dog.

Roy needed off the train, which should happen soon since they were actually in the station. He felt cramped. Worse, he was confused. Hughes hadn't had time to talk – the first clue something was seriously wrong – only enough to tell Roy that he needed his expertise and to expect another call. It came quickly from General Grumman's office. Roy was to go to Central on temporary duty assignment with two of his men. All he wanted now was to crawl into bed and stretch out.

"Are they ever going to open the doors?" Breda obviously wanted away from the dog as fast as possible.

"I wouldn't be in too much of a rush," Roy said. "Hughes didn't get us all the way out here for fun. General Grumman sounded positively grim when he said to report to General Gran for the duration of our stay."

"I wish they had been a little clearer as to what is expected of us," Riza said, fastening Hayate's leash to his collar.

"I figure if Hughes was that terse, this is going to be bad in ways I don't want to think about it." Roy scowled.

"Could it be about Edward? Hughes cares about him and that boy is more trouble than even you, sir," Riza said, shooting him a look of concern to go with her sarcasm.

"He didn't use the code so I don't think so," Roy said and Breda quirked up his eyebrows at that.

The conductor chose that moment to call for them to disembark. Breda was off like a shot. Roy took Hayate's leash, which was better than carrying Riza's purse, not that she needed help with either, but he liked to be accommodating, especially when he felt a little powerless at the moment. As they waited on their baggage, Roy scanned for Hughes' lanky frame. He'd probably be easy to spot. Unless Roy misjudged the wad of photos he had received in the mail, he suspected his best friend would be towering over the crowd, waving handfuls of pictures of his newborn daughter. Instead, two low-ranking soldiers arrived at the same time as the luggage.

"Colonel Mustang, sir?" the young lady asked as if she wasn't quite sure who he was.

"Yes. Where's Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?" Roy judged her to be the leader of this pair. The young man seemed more nervous and oddly resembled Edward.

"He got called away unexpectantly, sir. I'm Lieutenant Ross and he's Second Lieutenant Brosch. We're here to take you and your men to your temporary housing," Ross said.

"Something's happened," Roy guessed and he saw in Brosch's eyes that he was right.

"We're not at liberty to say," Ross replied, her tone firm. "Major Armstrong's orders."

"Take us to Hughes then, instead of housing. The bags can sit in the car," Roy ordered and they winced.

"General Gran ordered everyone away from that area, sir." Ross seemed unhappy to have to tell a superior 'no.'

Roy protested. "But Hughes asked me here."

"The General was very specific," Brosch said apologetically.

Riza laid a hand on Roy's arm. "Hughes will contact us as soon as he can. We should get to the visiting officer's quarters so he'll be able to find us."

"There wasn't room for all three of you in the VOQ," Ross said. "They assigned the colonel to a small cottage on base."

"That should be pleasant," Roy conceded, as a sudden clap of thunder made him jump. Just what he needed, a storm to start up. "Take us there."

Roy had to content himself with letting Brosch get the luggage and watching Breda freak out at having to share the back seat with Hayate. If this ride to the housing wasn't short, Roy thought he'd lose what little patience he still had left. Brosch took them first to the rundown officer's quarters for Breda. The female quarters were in slightly better shape, though Riza didn't seem particularly happy to be staying there.

Ross and Brosch spoke in hushed tones that Roy had no interest in trying to overhear once he figured out it had nothing to do about whatever Hughes had summoned him for. It took Roy a moment to realize when they had pulled up to his cottage. The military base appeared to have grown up around this whole row. The grey stone cottage looked like it was closer to its second century than its first. White paint was present only on one side of the house and the windows were tiny, almost cell-like, speaking of an era where glass panes were expensive and rare and windows were made of oiled leather and stout shutters. He could practically smell its age from here. It reminded him of Master Hawkeye's old place on a much smaller scale.

Ross and Brosch deposited him inside with an economy of words, as if afraid of getting browbeat into taking him where they had been forbidden to do so. He hadn't even managed to finagle the location from them so he could go on his own. Instead, Roy familiarized himself with his temporary home. Electricity had been a late addition, running along the walls, hiding behind white-painted metal tubing like mice. The living room actually had a bit of a homey feel as the grey stone walls opened up into a sizeable fireplace. If the autumn weather got any cooler, he'd make use of it. The kitchen beyond it had those cabinets he never understood, the ones that ran all the way up to the three and half meter ceilings. All right, he understood the need to make use of all the space, but who the hell could actually use them?

The bathroom was tucked behind what Roy suspected had been an outside wall behind the chimney, another late addition taking the place of the outhouse. He could sit on the commode and touch all four walls. It would be like showering in a coffin. The bedroom was upstairs and ran the length of the cottage. The bed, a generous double, called his name but Roy did little more than turn down the sheets. Boring, not-that-soft, military white sheets. He missed his own bed already.

Roy sometimes wished he had his own house, like Hughes. Houses on base were reserved for family men. Roy didn't want to buy his own place like Hughes had because that would be conceding he was in the Eastern Command for life. Roy wouldn't do that since he had no intention of being there until he died. He liked his command, liked the people he worked with, but hated the place. Buying a house would be admitting he was never going anywhere, ever.

Shoving the uncomfortable thoughts from his mind, Roy contemplated a shower then bed. Instead, he slipped out of his uniform and into a suit. The cottage had been graced by a phone so he called a cab. The night was young after all, the sun barely down. Granted, it was storming but why sit at home in a place that wasn't home? Before he had time to properly depress himself, Roy found himself at Sparky's. The bar was only half filled but he ignored the people at the tables as he slipped onto a stool. The redheaded bartender grinned at him.

"Haven't seen you in forever, Roy," Janina said.

He smiled at his foster sister. "I didn't know I'd be in town or I'd have given you fair warning."

"With rogues like you that would have been helpful," she huffed at him. "Your usual?"

"You know what I like." He flirted just like Mother had taught him. Sometimes it felt weird with his sisters but they weren't really kin and no one could know of their relationship. "Is the Madam in?"

"She was busy. I'll go check to see if she's done and let her know you're here," Janina said but she set up his whiskey for him before she did.

He had nearly knocked it all back by the time his redheaded sister reappeared. She beckoned to him. "Come on, Roy boy. She has time for you."

Janina deposited him in Chris' office. The smell of stale smoke made him think about Havoc and all the damn paperwork the man would generate and gleefully leave on Roy's desk. His mother's dark eyes swept over him and her lips quirked down, her cigarette wiggling. She had found something in him wanting.

"You're too skinny," she announced.

Roy sighed. "Don't make me take off my shirt and prove you wrong, Madam. I'm perfect."

Smoke curled out of her long nose when Chris snorted. "I see your ego still knows no bounds. Sit, son." She pointed to the chair in front of her desk. "You didn't tell me you were coming west."

"Didn't know until Hughes called me. I still don't know what he wants but whatever it is, it's official business." Roy took a seat, grimacing. "I have a very bad feeling about this."

Chris nodded. "As well you should. There have been a series of fires set, dead children, only that part has been kept out of the papers."

"I see Maes told you more than he told me," Roy said sourly.

"My boys keep me informed." She grinned. "Except he did fail to tell me about you but I'll forgive him. That newborn of his isn't letting him sleep."

Roy snorted. "Tell me about it. The bastard calls_ me _when he's up with Elicia at all hours. Why in the world you fostered that fool…."

"Because he's one of the smartest boys I had ever seen, much like some arrogant young men I could name." Chris shot him a meaningful look as she stubbed out her cigarette. "He's a natural at information gathering just like you are at alchemy. And you know you love it when he calls you at three in the morning so you can hear Elicia taking her bottle."

Roy rolled his eyes. He never knew exactly why he was one of the few children Chris had ever given her last name. His sister had kept their birth name but she had been older when they came to Chris and he had been so very young. Hughes has been older, too. Maybe that was why Hughes wasn't a Mustang but, then again, she couldn't give too many of her fosters that surname or it would give away the whole intelligence gathering network. "Tell me about these fires."

"I don't know much to tell. They've been running your brother ragged."

Roy nodded, not liking that. He was protective of Maes. He and Maes were more than brothers. Their foster mother knew and never judged. Neither did Maes' wife who had stunned them years ago with her willingness to accept their relationship and join in, along with Riza. Still, if Gracia could put up with whatever the military was making Maes do, who was he to say anything? "What can you tell me? I was told in no uncertain terms I couldn't get involved until Hughes comes and gets me, I assume. Why else would I be here? They refused to take me to him."

"I suppose you could stumble on the scene yourself." A sly smile played over his mother's mobile lips.

Roy smirked. "Hard to protest that. If I get close enough and Hughes sees me, he'll bring me in. So, I suppose you know where he is."

Her cigarette holder jabbed westward. "Sadly, not far from here. You could walk."

Roy paid for the information with a kiss to his mother's cheek and a promise to come back for a proper visit some time while he was in Central, his job allowing. The rain hadn't abated when he got outside and, like a fool, he had forgotten his umbrella. Hell, he hated the rain.

"Roy!" He turned back to see Janina brandishing an umbrella. "Someone left this here weeks ago," she said and he took it with his thanks, heading down the street.

Inside the umbrella, Roy found an envelope. He tucked it into his jacket for reading later. It took all his determination just to slog through the downpour. Water slapped against the sidewalk as overtaxed and dirty gutters failed to shunt the rain down the drains. People thought he hated the rain because he was useless. Roy liked to let them think that. It was to his advantage, after all. No one would guess the real reason he hated the rain, why he felt a deep desolation of the soul in storms like this. Lakes brought similar melancholy to him and he only ever went to them in the company of people he felt safe with. No, let them think his depression was due to his short-circuited alchemy. Even he preferred to think that.

It wasn't hard to find the site. Even with the deluge, the smell of smoke hung in the air. Two blocks more and the intense search lights were a dead giveaway. Several large lights, generators chugging away adding diesel to the miasma, illuminated a partially burnt building. Several soldiers stopped Roy there and he regretted changing out of his uniform.

"Move along, sir. There's nothing to see," one of the soldiers said.

"Sergeant, I'm Colonel Mustang. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes requested I come as quickly as possible." Roy gestured to his civilian clothing. "As you can see, I haven't even bothered to change. I'm sure he'd appreciate you telling him I'm here."

When the man looked ready to protest, Roy pulled out his ever-present pocket watch and the man's mouth clamped shut. He nodded, turning on his heel. However, his companions didn't move and weren't about to let Roy past their perimeter. The first soldier came back with Hughes, who had the decency to look surprised to see Roy standing there in the rain.

He grunted at Mustang. "I wasn't expecting you until the morning but since you're here, come on back. It'll be good to have your eyes on this before the rain ruins everything."

Roy fell into step with Hughes who snagged the umbrella out of his hand, holding it over head. "Hey."

"You're too short. I'm sure you're wondering why all the secrecy about getting you here." Maes's pace was a touch too brisk.

Roy nodded. "Among other things, yes."

"I'd rather not say much and let you come to your own conclusions." Maes folded up the umbrella once they were under the spotty shelter of a precariously weak roof.

Spot lights turned night to day. Roy could see Armstrong hunkered down, studying something. The smell made Roy's stomach flip. He knew it too well, roasted human flesh. Under a gaping hole in the ceiling where the flames and the storm conspired to make short work of the fire-damaged roof, Roy saw a small charred body, not a child, a teen maybe.

He blinked rapidly and the smoke-filled building disappeared, replaced by a street of mud-brick buildings and smoking roof tiles. He saw the bodies, blackened sticks for limbs, heads exploded where the brains had boiled in their own skulls. His lips were coated with grease.

Vaguely, he heard Hughes calling his name. Maes said it sharply one more time and Ishbal receded back to the recesses of Roy's mind. His friend stared at him, no doubt seeing his distress. Roy shook his shoulders, firming up his tenuous grip on reality. It had been some time since he'd had a flash back. "What happened here?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," Maes said.

Roy's nose scrunched as Armstrong stood up, stepping aside for him. Roy moved past the man, taking a better look at the victim, then studied the room. "Whoever this child was, he was torched. See how burnt he is?" Roy squinted. "She?" He couldn't tell, too much damage. "Human flesh is harder than you think to burn. All around the body, the fire did less damage. But look at that wall." Roy pointed. "I'll need to see it in the day but that looks like lizard-skinning. It's where the fire burned hotter."

"So, very hot fire in two places," Armstrong said and Roy nodded.

"I'd say someone poured an accelerant on this poor person and then splashed it around the walls." Roy took a deep breath. "I don't smell gas so maybe alcohol. It's hard to tell." He turned and looked at Hughes. "I was already on the train when this happened. There are more, aren't they?"

Hughes's large mouth twisted. "Too many. This makes the fourth, all young teens as far as the coroner can tell."

"Two boys and a girl," Armstrong added. "And he'll have to tell us which this poor child was." His blue eyes were clouded with sadness and determination. "There's no way of knowing who any of them were."

"We're going through the missing persons reports with the local police," Hughes said. "Hoping maybe for dental records but if these kids were from poorer families, those won't exist." He gestured to the body at their feet. "This one is in the best shape. The rain came up unexpectedly tonight. There were no signs of it earlier in the day."

"It put out most of the fire before anyone ever arrived," Armstrong continued. "We haven't had a body in this good of shape before."

"What do you think I can do for you?" Roy closed his eyes momentarily. He needed that break from the horror, thinking he knew exactly what Maes wanted from him. Roy knew he wasn't going to like this.

"You've already started. You know how to read fires, Roy," Maes said. "We don't. I wouldn't have thought about the fire being started in two separate places. Of course, the last few times there was next to nothing left to even look at."

"I want to see those places, too," Roy said, glancing up through the hole and the rain pissing through it. The water made bits of burnt flesh float away even though they had put a tarp over the body. "In the daylight, of course. I brought Hawkeye and Breda with me."

"Good, we'll make good use of them," Hughes said. "I'll be meeting with the coroner tomorrow while he does the autopsy and Armstrong continues to work the missing persons' files."

"There is an astonishing number of missing children," Armstrong said, his voice heavy. "And that's not even considering they may have come from the Ishbalan slums on the outskirts."

"I'll go with you," Roy said without enthusiasm. He didn't really want to see an autopsy but that would be the best way to learn something, seeing it for himself.

Hughes nodded and went back to work, giving Roy directions as to what he could do to help them. Roy realized the severity of the whole situation when Maes didn't mention his wife and newborn daughter once. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Having a kitchen but no food meant breakfast wasn't going to happen at his place. Roy called his men and suggested a diner ran by yet another of his extended family. A brother was a short order cook and his sister a waitress and, between them and the diner's location, they garnered all sorts of information from base and town.

Roy flipped three pancakes from the impressive stack onto Breda's plate, mostly wanting to see if Breda could manage them along with the stack he already had plus the eggs, toast, ham slices and bacon. Riza daintily pushed the tip of her bread into her dippy eggs, ignoring the men. Roy stabbed up a sausage, wishing he could eat them without thinking the naughty thoughts of a twelve year old as he considered their shape. He inhaled half the sausage in one bite.

"What next, sir?" Riza finally asked.

"Gran's adjutant called just as I was leaving. He wants us in his office at oh-nine-hundred." Roy pointed the other end of his sausage at her. "See, Hawkeye, other people don't have to do things at the crack of dawn."

She rolled her eyes. "When you become a general, sir, you can do what you want."

What do you think he wants of us?" Breda asked, after swallowing some toast.

"He probably knows I managed to hunt down Hughes last night," Roy said, using his pancake as a syrup sponge. "I wasn't supposed to, of course." Mindful of the other patrons, Roy lowered his voice. "Between us, there have been several children burned to death and Hughes and Armstrong are investigating. I don't know much more than that yet."

Breda pursed his lips, picking up his cup of coffee and drinking from it. "Explains why the lieutenant colonel wanted you here."

Roy nodded. "Hopefully the general will keep out of this. He usually lets Hughes do what he needs to without much interference, at least according to Hughes."

"Who would burn children?" Riza set her fork aside, her brown eyes dimming.

"That's what we're going to find out," Roy said, his mind screaming 'the man sitting next to you, the one you let touch you intimately'. He pushed away his plate, not wanting any more of his breakfast.

Once they were finished – Breda having totally cleaned his plate, even polishing off the rest of the stack of pancakes – they headed onto base. Gran didn't keep them waiting. Hughes was already in the room with the general, the dark rings under his bloodshot eyes magnified by his lenses. Gran sat at his desk, that ridiculous moustache of his twitching when he saw Roy. The alchemists knew each other well, respected each other's abilities, but they didn't like each other. Gran thought Roy was weak. Roy thought Gran was monstrous. The man, much like Kimbley and Silver, had seemed to outrightly enjoy what they had done in Ishbal. Many nights Roy still couldn't sleep but he doubted Gran had ever lost a moment's shuteye.

"Mustang, have a seat," Gran motioned to the one in front of his desk.

Roy sat, never taking his eyes off Gran. He could hear Riza and Breda taking up residence against the back wall. "You asked for me to be reassigned here temporarily, sir."

Gran frowned, making the scar that cut across the bridge of his nose twist. The absurd thought of how ugly that made this man look raced through Roy's mind, though there was little that would make him attractive. Gran was as hard as his alchemy. Roy thought if he cut the man open there would be no heart. "Yes, and I assume you partially know why, since you went stumbling after the crime scene even though you were expressly told to stay in your room."

"Actually, sir, they said to stay away from the area, not that I was confined to quarters," Roy said, measuring each and every word, feeling several sets of eyes on him. "I stumbled, as you say, across the scene by accident on the way back from a walk."

"At night? In the rain?" Gran scoffed.

"I sleep poorly, sir, and I had an umbrella," Roy said and he heard Maes lowly clearing his throat in warning. Roy remembered what Maes had confided in him once, how Gran has summarily killed a superior officer for the hell of it.

Gran's frowned deepened. Hell, the man was so damn huge, Roy wondered if Gran could reach across the desk and rip his head off. "I should expect this behavior from you, Flame. I always say it never pays to promote people too young. They get full of themselves."

Roy bowed his head at that. If that was what Gran thought last night's insubordination was about, Roy should be fairly safe. "Sorry, sir."

That seemed to appease the man. Gran sat back, templing his fingers. "Hughes, bring them up to speed." His reptilian gaze slithered over to Maes. "Or did you tell him everything last night?"

"Only that there were four incidents and that we didn't know much. I planned on taking the lieutenant colonel to the autopsy," Hughes replied.

"And that the victims were children, you mentioned that," Roy said, figuring honesty would be best since there was no reason to lie, yet. "I don't know who would hurt children. No one's made it clear why I'm here. Is it just to read how these fires were set?"

"It was Hughes's idea. I thought you'd be useless," Gran said, his eyes narrowing as they swept back over Roy.

Roy tried not to let his irritation show. "I'm not an investigator, true, but I do know fire." 

"It's the only reason you're here. Technically, I'm in charge but the investigation is Hughes's," Gran swiveled again to glower at the man. "I know you outrank him, Mustang, but, for the interim, you and your men will be under Hughes."

"That won't be a problem, sir," Roy quickly assured him, thinking of all the ways he'd like to be under Hughes. He shooed those thoughts away as unprofessional and distracting, despite how they might alleviate some of the tension he felt.

"Good. I don't have to tell any of you that it is very embarrassing to the Fuhrer to have these sorts of crimes against children happening right in his very own town." Gran's tone made it clear Iron-Blood had no concern or compassion for the dead children. Nothing existed in him except the climb up the ladder and currying favor with the Fuhrer. "Try to wrap this up quickly."

"We'll do our best," Hughes said. "Hawkeye, Breda, I want you to give Armstrong a hand. Mustang, you're coming with me to the coroners."

"Of course." While glad Gran didn't detain them even if it meant going to see a dead, burned child, Roy hoped it wouldn't give him flashbacks, like last night.

* * *

"Knox, haven't seen you in a while," Roy said, surprised to see the man in this cramped, stale-smelling, messy office. He missed Hughes's 'shut up' look.

Knox peered at him then blew out a long stream of smoke. "No offense, I never wanted to see you again."

Roy winced. He knew of the experiments, the horror that Knox had been forced into. They now knew more about treating burns than they had before the war, thanks to the inhumane experiments the doctors had performed on Roy's victims. "I understand."

"You were a brat," Knox added, surprising Roy.

"I was what?" Roy's jaw dropped. Maes smothered a snicker.

"I haven't forgotten the ruckus you made in the infirmary after you were shot."

"I was hit in the head." Roy touched the little scar hidden by his hair. I thought I was dying!"

"You barely had a scratch and you kept harassing the nurses," Knox countered. "You were worse when it was one of your men who were hit."

"That's called concern, not being a brat." Roy huffed.

"Doctor, Mustang is joining us on the burn cases," Maes said before the conversation could degenerate further.

Knox snuffed out his cigarette and beckoned them to follow. If Roy thought the office had smelt stale, it was a breath of paradise compared to the rest of the morgue. The smells of decay, preservatives and disinfectants left his sinuses feeling like they had been scrubbed raw. Knox didn't seem to notice but Maes looked as uncomfortable as Roy felt. The doctor motioned for them to stay where they were and he disappeared only to return with a gurney that held a too-small body under a stained sheet.

Roy reminded himself he had seen too many burned bodies, that this shouldn't bother him, but it did. This wasn't some hellish battlefield where reminders of bleak existence were everywhere. This was a sterile room and this child, with his blackened flesh, shouldn't be here.

"We got lucky with that fall of rain," Knox said. "The whole body wasn't consumed."

"It's very hard to burn a body beyond all recognition," Roy said. "The flesh doesn't burn easily."

Knox nodded. "We've been assuming there were accelerants used. Mostly all we have are teeth to go by."

"There have been some cases where identification has been made by dental records," Maes reminded Roy. "But if these kids didn't have the money for that sort of care." His voice trailed off.

"And many don't," Knox put in.

Maes folded his arms, his face grim. "Then we're at a loss."

"People don't come looking for lost children?" The question came out unbidden. Roy already knew the answer to that. Look at his mother and her foster kids. How many of them had been thrown out into the street without anyone to look after them?

"Do you know how many people have too many kids they can't afford? Or are afraid of the law?" Knox asked. "How many kids without parents are running away from orphanages?"

Roy nodded. "I was the latter, doctor."

Knox eyed him in surprise then grunted. "Then you know what can happen to kids out there."

Roy lost all color. He could feel it draining out so fast he was tempted to see if it was going down the metal grating under the cadaver's table. The smell of wintergreen flooded his senses even though he knew it really wasn't there. The pain, the horrible things people did to children, lurked in the back of his mind, making his knees tremble. He felt Maes's hand on his arm, and it helped shake off the worst of it. Hograth ,with his breath reeking of wintergreen, wasn't here to hurt him.

"If you can't handle the autopsy, Mustang, you'd better leave now," Knox warned. "If you pass out, I'm not up to treating living patients…not any more." The 'not ever again' was evident in his tone.

Roy gulped, trying to ignore the flood of saliva in his mouth and the twist of his stomach. "I'm fine. Burned bodies bring back bad memories."

Knox gave him a long look then bellowed, "Thomas, bring in some chairs for the officers and make sure there is plenty of film in the camera."

"Yes, sir."

Roy thought the hapless Thomas sounded young and, when the man in question appeared, two rickety wooden fold-up chairs in hand, he was proven right. Roy sat as far as he could from whatever it was Knox was doing – mostly photographing at this point. Maes sat next to Roy, looking vaguely sick as well.

"This is interesting," Knox said after he had finished peeling burnt fabric and flesh off the corpse and poked around for while.

"What?" Maes asked.

"Not quite sure yet. Swab, Thomas."

The young man handed a cotton swab to the doctor who shoved it somewhere Roy refused to look too closely at then carried it to where a microscope was set up on the counter space. He rubbed the swab to a slide and turned the light on for the scope. After a bit, Knox harrumphed.

"You found something?" Maes shot the man a hopeful look.

"Whoever killed this boy most likely raped him first. Found semen," Knox turned back to them. "This is the first time the body hasn't been too badly burnt for me to make any kind of determination. Mustang, you sure you can handle autopsies? You're green."

Mustang just nodded. "I'm fine," he ground out even though he wasn't. He wanted to run away but his memories would always follow him.

Knox went back to his work. Roy tried not to hear the wet snap of bone and the smell of cooked innards once Knox got the body open. It seemed like an eternity before the man let Thomas sew the child back up. He peeled off his smeared apron and gloves then wiped sweat off his forehead. Knox looked old to Roy, older than he knew the man to be.

"The hyoid bone is crushed. Someone strangled this young man," he said. Knox pointed to his neck. "It's the only free-floating bone and often it's damaged in strangulation cases."

"Just like the others," Maes murmured.

"Except for the one girl. She was stabbed," Knox countered. "This boy was intact enough to see he has red eyes. That might explain why no one is coming around to report missing children."

Maes scrubbed a finger in his beard. "Taking children from the Ishbalan shanty towns would make it easier for someone. They could prey on people who wouldn't go to the authorities."

"Only if they could lure the kids away from those places," Knox said, over the sound of water as he washed his hands. "There are some Ishbalans who'd cut the throat of anyone venturing into those places and who could blame them?"

"It would be easy to lure those kids," Roy said with an air of authority. "They're hungry. Your guard goes down when you're starving."

"No doubt. That's about all I can give you, Hughes."

"It's enough, Doctor. Come on, Roy, let's go do something with it." Hughes beckoned for Roy to follow, which he did. "I have an hour for lunch," Maes added once they were outside the morgue.

Roy left off huffing in fresh air to give his friend a stunned look. "You can eat after that?"

"Probably but I thought we could go back to your place."

"Why?"

Maes shot him a 'you're stupid' look that merely confused Roy, before the man hailed a cab. "Tell the man where they put you up, Roy."

Meekly obeying, Roy slid into the car. Once they were underway, he whispered to Maes. "Why is the military even involved in this?"

"First victim was in one of our abandoned warehouses. The order came down to handle everything."

"Ah." Roy fell silent, trying not to think about dead children. Instead, he decided to concentrate on the living. "I got the pictures you sent of Elicia. Thanks."

"I have new ones for you," Maes returned, brightening considerably.

"New? She's less than a month old. How much can she have changed?"

"Immensely," Maes assured him. "She gets more beautiful every day." His eyes pierced Roy, obviously finding him wanting for not instinctively appreciating Elicia's growing beauty. "You don't think Elicia is lovely?"

"New life is always beautiful, Maes, but all babies pretty much look alike." Roy shrugged.

Maes' lips thinned. "I should toss you out of the cab and find new lunch plans."

"Don't pout," Roy said. "You aren't good at it."

"Guess the king would know," Maes shot back.

"You're going to drown me in pictures, aren't you?" Roy sighed.

"If you lived in Central and could see her daily and know how beautiful she is, I wouldn't have to."

"I'd love to be reassigned here but as long as the upper echelons hang onto their seats, getting older by the minute, a young upstart like me will be relegated to the ass-end of the country." Roy slumped in the seat.

"See this is why young Edward doesn't like you. The East is his home," Maes replied. He rubbed the bridge of his nose under his glasses. "I still don't fully understand why you recruited him."

Roy nodded toward the cabby in warning. "Not something I wanted to discuss over the phone."

Maes grunted, digging in his jacket pocket. He pulled out a photo. "Since you asked, here."

Roy glanced at the picture of a baby in a pink dress. "You sent me that one."

"No, I just took these two days ago. I've learned to use the base's dark room. It speeds things along."

"Maes, you _sent _me that one." Roy pushed the picture aside.

Maes flapped the photo at him. "You're blind. See how much bigger she is already! Look at that smile."

"I'm not blind. You're insane."

"I should shove you out of the cab."

Roy tossed his hands up. "If you're going to inflict baby pictures on me the whole way, please do."

Maes scowled at him then pulled out more photos. "You have to see this one. Look, it's the dress you bought her."

Roy accepted the photo. Elicia stared out at him, all huge eyes and fuzz-covered head. "She's thinking 'what's with all this lace'?"

"That or 'I'm hungry.' She thinks that one a lot, poor Gracia." Maes tucked the photo away.

"Makes you selfishly glad your part in the whole creation of life thing is limited to the fun stuff," Roy replied.

"Yes, but don't let Gracia heart that. She'll probably pelt you with everything in the diaper pail."

Roy shuddered as the cab pulled up to the curb. He paid the man then headed up the walk.

"It's a nice cottage," Maes said, shoving the photos back inside his pocket.

"Honestly, it's almost nicer than my place back home," Roy replied, letting them in. He immediately relocked the door. He hadn't been a compulsive locker before the war. His mother always yelled at him for leaving things unlocked. After the war, people came looking for him, both to praise and lambaste him. Roy learned to hold his privacy sacred.

"You haven't seen my house yet. You need to come to dinner," Mae said, going over to pull the curtains but stopped when he saw Roy had never bothered to open them.

"Do you think that's smart?" Roy's eyebrows arched.

Maes shrugged. "I'll ask Gracia to see when she feels would be a good time and you'll probably be eating my cooking."

"Have you gotten any better since Mom tried to teach you?"

"Not really."

"I'll pay for the caterer," Roy said with a shudder.

"Look at you, so quick to offend when I was just about to do something nice." Maes pouted.

"Oh?"

The bespeckled man leaned in close. "Do you have the curtains closed in your bedroom?"

"Yeah, I didn't bother with anything. I just rolled out of bed and met up with Riza and Breda early. Why?"

Maes wrapped his arms around Roy, sucking on the man's neck. A little 'oh' sounded in his ear as his befuddled companion finally figured it out. Maes sealed his mouth over Roy's, his tongue thrusting past Roy's lips, tasting him. He kneaded Roy's ass as his friend moved against him.

Finally, Roy broke free. "Should you be doing this, Maes?"

The investigator slid a hand around to Roy's crotch, squeezing him. "You'd better hope so, you're so damn hard already."

"Maes, I'm being serious," Roy protested, leaning into that touch, in spite of himself.

"I am, too." Maes leered. "Gracia told me to come play with you. She's not ready to have sex yet and figured you'd make an excellent way to burn of some of my energy."

Roy looped his hands around Maes' neck. "You're right about something, you have a great wife."

"I'm right about a lot of things." Maes laughed, hauling Roy toward the bedroom

* * *

Maes rolled over, rubbing a finger over Roy's nipple. "We don't have much of a lunch hour left."

"Who's fault is that, idiot?" Roy pouted.

"You are so mean, brat." Maes tweaked the nipple at hand.

"Next time plan for more time," Roy said, rolling out of bed, heading for the shower.

"Next time have lubrication, brat."

"You keep calling me that," Roy tossed a wicked grin over his shoulder. "and I'll lock you out of the shower."

"Absolute brat." Maes bounced off the bed and chased Roy into the bathroom.

Later, showered and redressed, they headed back to town on foot. The grey sky felt close and ominous as if the rain was tracking them and biding its time. Roy's belly growled loudly.

"This is all your fault, Hughes."

"Like you were protesting." Maes patted Roy's belly. "I didn't think that part of you ever required filling. You're so skinny."

"Wiry," Roy huffed. "You know I'm all muscle."

"Yes, I do." Maes leered.

Roy shoved him and hustled down the sidewalk, spotting a street vendor. The shaved, spiced meat tucked into a flat bread wrapping languished in its wrapper until he managed to get to his temporary office. No surprise to him, Breda and Riza were already there, talking quietly when he came in and threw himself down in his seat. Roy unwrapped the fragrant, cucumber and yogurt sauced sandwich, taking a hearty bite.

"You look more relaxed than this morning, sir," Breda observed.

"Yes, you do." Unlike Breda's unwitting comment, Riza's was accompanied by a knowing eye roll. "Did you learn anything helpful?" Breda continued and Roy almost lost his appetite.

"Helpful, that's a way of putting it. First, did anyone check up on the boys back home?"

"Falman says if Hawkeye ever leaves again, he'll preemptively kill Havoc to save himself headaches." Breda grinned. "I had to put Hawkeye on the line to bully them."

"I do not bully people," Hawkeye replied loftily.

"Yes, you…" Roy started then stuffed the sandwich into his mouth when she glared. "Let me finish eating then I'll tell you what the autopsy revealed. Did you learn anything else?"

As if on cue, Armstrong came in, pulling a wheeled chalk board with him. On one side, a map of the city had been tacked up. "We find using a chalk board very helpful," he said. "And Hughes started marking sites of fires with child victims on the map. This is a copy." The huge man stopped and eyed Roy. "Are you all settled in, Colonel? Is there anything else you need?"

"I think we're fine. We could have used the map you guys are. We're just down the hall, after all," Roy replied.

"We often make more than one copy." Armstrong waved him off.

"Is there anything else at any of these scenes besides the body?" Roy got up, peering at the map.

"Sadly no. Those poor children." Armstrong's whole face dropped.

"You didn't tell us what they found on autopsy, sir."

"So true, Hawkeye. I wanted to let that lunch settled or else it might get a little miserable in here," Roy replied.

"Allow me, sir," Armstrong said. "Dr. Knox was very swift with his reports. Last night's victim was an unknown male child, evidence of rape." He paused at Breda's startled inrush of air. "The fire was not the cause of death. He was strangled before the building was set on fire."

"Accelerant was poured on the victim," Roy added. "He was definitely trying to hide what had been done to the children."

"Who does this to a child?" Breda's fist pounded on top of the desk.

Roy couldn't suppress another shudder. "I don't know but they do it all the time. Armstrong, how many missing kids are there in this city?"

Armstrong shook his domed head, misery etched into his face. "Far too many. That is where we've started looking but like we said last night, unless there are dental records there won't be any other way to identify them," he said. "I'll bring up a stack of missing children's reports that you can go through and eliminate the unlikelies based on Knox's estimations of age."

"And we're afraid that these kids are from the poor side of town and there won't be any records nor anyone coming forward to say their child is missing," Maes said from the doorway.

"I thought about that. The boy this morning had red eyes. If this person is pulling kids from the encampments, we'll never find the parents. They won't trust us," Roy said and his companions scowled, knowing he was right.

"How would this person lure an Ishbalan?" Breda asked. His narrowed eyes studied the map, taking in all the information. Roy wondered if Breda might be able to surmise where the next body drop could be. With the man's deductive skills, he might be wasted in Roy's unit but Roy wasn't about to let him go.

"Food," Roy muttered, suppressing yet another shiver. Memories from his childhood tried to well up but he crushed them back.

"If this killer is only taking Ishbalan children, we may never find him." Maes tried to slick his bangs back with the rest of his hair but it refused to stick. "Right now we should just keep concentrating on the missing children's reports. We might get lucky."

Roy picked up a file. Silence enveloped the room as they set to work.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Maes watched Elicia sleeping until Gracia came in to fetch him out of the baby's room and chivvied him to theirs.

"You've been quiet all evening," she said, crawling into bed.

Maes took off his shirt. "Thinking about this case."

She rested back against the flowery sheets. "You never tell me about your work."

"You already don't get enough sleep." He tossed his trousers into the hamper. "It's nothing I want to tell you about just before you go to bed. Ask me in the morning." Maes climbed into bed with her, putting an arm around his wife. "It's really Roy I'm worried about."

Gracia snuggled against him. "I don't understand."

Maes ran his fingers through her hair, debating on how much he could tell her. "You know that both of us grew up with a foster mother."

"Yes."

"My father was an investigator and he knew Chris. I went to her when he was killed in the line of duty," Maes said, trying not to think about that. He remembered his father dying, the fear of what would happen to him, the loneliness of not having his father. "Mom died of childbirth fever, which if you wonder why I hover about and fuss so much, well, that's it."

Gracia's green eyes saddened and she put her hand on his cheek. "I'm fine, Maes."

"And I want to keep you that way. Anyhow, it was rough for me but nothing like Roy. His mother was murdered by his step dad and a lot of bad things happened to Roy and his sister. They lived on the street for some time before Chris found them. Roy couldn't have been more than seven and he looked a lot younger. He was a little kid and I looked out for him since sometimes our siblings could get a little rambunctious. Not everyone Chris took in turned out nice."

"I'm sure there's always that risk, taking on fosters who had so much trauma in their young lives," Gracia squeezed his hand.

"And some were just bad seed, like Roy's original step-siblings. They really knocked him and his sister around, Roy more so since his sister was a few years older and she's damned tough." Maes sighed. "Someone is hurting kids," he admitted, feeling her tense. "Which is why I don't want to talk about it right now."

"And you think it's making Roy think of how bad things used to be?" Gracia turned worried eyes up at him.

"I know it is. I can see it in his eyes. He's going to be in for a rough night." Maes wished he could do something about it but, even if he left his wife and child, there would be little he could do to help Roy through it.

"Do you want to go and be with him, Maes? I wouldn't mind." Gracia squeezed his hand again. "I would hate to think of Roy just sitting there by himself, frightened and alone."

Maes kissed her. "You are an amazing woman, Gracia, but my place is here with you and Elicia. Roy will either go to Mom's or Riza will go to him. Someone will be there to take care of him."

"I hope so for his sake."

Maes didn't want to worry Gracia any more than he already had but he certainly hoped so, too.

* * *

Roy hunched his shoulders against the damp wind. He didn't mind the cold; he missed it out East where winters were short. However, the promise of another autumn storm added an unpleasant, bone-aching element to the night air. There was nothing to do but read the books he had managed to slip into his bag in his hurry to get to Central. With the demons howling in his head, reading had no appeal. He had hailed a cab and ended up outside his mother's bar.

He collided with a man who was coming out at the same time as he tried to get into the bar. A sneer cut across the man's pale face. Roy moved to the side, "Sorry," he muttered, scrutinizing the man. There was something so familiar about his lack of coloring, in the hard grey eyes hooded under eyebrows so pale they were nearly invisible. Whatever it was, Roy couldn't place the face.

"Watch where you're going," the man growled but Roy didn't feel like fighting tonight. He simply slithered inside, determined to forget every unpleasant thing that happened today.

Roy tossed himself down at one of the worst tables in the place, shoved into a corner. He was hoping it would discourage anyone trying to come up and talk to him. He knew he _should_ go talk to one of his sisters or his mother, since that was why he had made the trip, but he didn't even have enough energy to even make it to the brass rail and get something to drink. Eventually, someone would notice he was just sitting alone in the dark and come see what he wanted.

Roy watched the fire dancing in the fireplace catty corner to his table. The heat helped drive off the damp born of autumn rain. He never admitted it to anyone buy Roy enjoyed watching fire move, loved the colors as they subtly changed whenever they hit an impurity or a bit of sap. He always had enjoyed it but he kept that fact secret. People already thought he was a fire freak, that flames got him off. He should tell Maes tomorrow that the fire could be more than a means to hide child rape. There were those who really did get off on fire.

He was so lost in the flames, he didn't hear someone approach his table.

"Are you woolgathering?"

Roy startled, banging his knee on the table. He hissed, rubbing the joint as he glared up at the dark-skinned girl. "Don't sneak up on me."

"I've been standing here for a minute. You're too busy thinking happy thoughts about fire." Regina, one of his many sisters, said.

Roy snorted. "There is nothing happy about fire, not any more," he lied almost competently. He did have a few untainted joys left to fire but again, he didn't want to hear how it was his aphrodisiac.

Regina rolled her eyes. "The Madam wants to see you."

Roy levered himself up and followed Regina back to their mother's office. Regina had let her tightly coiled hair get long. It looked like a mass of springs that waved when she walked. There was a lightness to her hairdo that lifted his mood a little.

Regina abandoned him at the Madam's door. Roy knocked lightly then slipped in without waiting for a response. It was suddenly important to see his mother. He'd accept the punishment if she were still busy with something.

Roy spotted the flash of concern the moment he stepped inside her office, capturing that vision just before Chris suppressed it. "You knew what I'd be facing, didn't you?" he snapped. "Last night, you could have told me this person was raping children."

Chris' dark eyes snapped opened and he realized his mother hadn't known. She whipped out from behind her desk, faster than Roy had seen her more in a long time. Chris took his hand. "_That's_ what is happening?" 

"Yes!" Roy knew that was unfair of him. No one had known about the rapes until today but his mood was a vicious one that didn't care too much about details.

Chris guided him to the old insanely bright flowery patterned couch shoved up along one wall and forced him down. The cushions swallowed him up. She kept the couch for nights when she needed a nap at the office. Chris sat next to him, putting a fleshy arm around his shoulders. "I didn't know that, Roy."

He trembled, leaning against her, feeling like a desperate child. "They just found out this morning. This last child hadn't been burned as badly. Knox could figure out more about the crime." Roy rubbed a hand over his mouth. "But you knew children were the target."

"I didn't want involve you, Roy, but Maes thought he needed your help."

Roy saw something he rarely saw in his mother's eyes, abject worry. It was for him and Roy couldn't tell her not to worry. He _needed_ someone who could visible worry over him and fret and comfort him. Riza couldn't do that and Maes would be limited in what he could do. Roy spent so much time worrying about everyone else: Maes, Riza, that poor kid he just roped into the military, the snappy little dog, Elric. Wasn't it time for someone to worry about him? It was selfish. He knew it. He didn't care. "His boss doesn't want me here."

Chris pushed his bangs out of his eyes, trying to smooth them back into a proper hair style. They sprang back the moment her hand moved. "You don't give a damn that Gran doesn't want you."

"I care insomuch as I want to know where he is and if he's planning on trying to remove me. He would smile for a change if he could think of a way to get rid of me permanently, especially if it didn't incriminate him." Roy took a deep breath in but it turned into a choke. "I don't know if I can do this."

Chris pulled him closer, letting him bury his face against her neck. She smelled like cigarettes and roses. Her hand stroked his back. "You are one of the strongest men I know, son. You are stronger than this ghost that haunts you."

"Why does it have to be raining on top of it all?" Roy shuddered, putting his arms around his adoptive mother. He was seven again and he needed someone to make the monsters go away. "He liked it when it would storm and drown out the noise." Roy hiccupped, tears he did not want to lose to forming in his eyes. "He killed Mom in the rain."

Her hand didn't still. "I know, Roy boy, I know. But Stewart Hograth can't hurt you any more. He's very dead." Chris said that with a large dollop of satisfaction.

"I know." Roy couldn't hold back any more and a few tears escaped the prison of his lashes, making a break for it down over his cheeks. "I haven't had to think about him in so long."

"I should have made Maes forget this idea," she said, squeezing him. Chris gave him time to regain his composure then she slid free of his grasp. His mother fetched a heavy comforter and a flattish pillow out of the closet. "Lie down for a while, Roy." She didn't give him much choice, forcing him down on the cushions. Roy managed to kick off his boots before she had him tucked in so tight he wasn't sure he could move. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

Roy didn't have the heart to tell her he probably couldn't get an arm free to accept a drink. Instead, he snuggled into the couch. "I just need to rest a little. I'll be fine, Madam," he replied, trying to find his center using formality.

"If you want something, just holler."

Chris sat back at her desk and went back to work, giving him his space so he could piece together his dignity. Roy had almost drifted off when he heard a knock at the door. He shut his eyes as Chris went to answer it, not listening to the hushed conversation she had with whoever was on the other side. Calloused fingers touched his cheek, startling him. He looked up into Riza's concerned eyes.

"Riza, why are you here?"

"I thought you might need me." She sat against the crook of his hip. Her eyes widened a bit, seeing the tight blanket around him. "I know you can't be feeling good after what you learned today."

"I've been better." He squirmed an arm free so he could take her hand. "I just didn't want to be alone so I came here."

"I have an apartment above the bar. You two can stay there whenever you need to be alone," Chris said, heading for the door.

"Thanks, ma'am," Roy said. His mother nodded and shut the door behind her.

Taking advantage of the windowless office, Riza leaned down and kissed him. "Do you want to go up to that apartment, Roy? You don't look like you should be alone."

He brushed her hair back, the skin of her forehead soft under his fingers. "I do but I won't. We just got here. I can't guarantee that I won't get called to another crime scene in the middle of the night. I don't want them wondering where I am or where you are."

Riza stole another kiss. "Are you sure? We could go up for a little while, help you relax."

"No, that didn't…" Roy bit his lower lip, his cheeks going pink. Riza knew already that he had been with Maes but still, sometimes sex could make him feel like a little kid. Maybe it was because he was bundled up like a child in his mother's room.

"Were you going to say it didn't work when you tried it at lunch?" Riza tapped his chin. "I can do things Maes can't."

Roy grinned. "You don't have to tell me."

"So do you want to go up?" Riza tugged at his blanket, giving him the idea that it had been a little too long for her.

"You're as bad as Maes. I _still _haven't had time to go to the pharmacy. I don't have condom tins hidden around my person and I am _not_ raiding anything my sisters might have here." A sudden image that it might be his _mother_ who had the condoms in her office made all desire fly away.

"We'll work around that," Riza assured him.

Roy struggled out of the blanket. Sex didn't sound like a terrible idea. He might just forget for a little while just how shaken he was. If not, at least he'd still have Riza to hold on to for a little while.

* * *

Lauren looked up from counting the take for the week when her brother strolled into the office and tossed himself down on the battered leather chair in front of her desk. He struck that lazy, open-legged pose he usually tried with the ladies. Too bad for him, he took after their mother who had been a rich, fat cow their father had managed to seduce. Now getting closer to forty than thirty, Nick was getting jowly and his pale features made him look even more like he was sculpted from half-risen dough. Lauren didn't particularly like her brother but for all his foolish, brutish behavior, he was easy to manipulate.

"I saw someone today we haven't seen in years." Nick scratched at his belly. "That's the one good thing about how famous that little crybaby got to be. I still don't get how he managed that."

Lauren looked up curiously. "What are you blathering about?"

"Mustang."

She set aside the money, giving her brother her full attention. "What? Where?"

"At Sparky's. I was coming out when he was going in."

Lunging over her desk at him, Lauren clamped a hand over his wrist, her nails digging into his skin. "What in the hell were you doing there? You idiot! Don't you know how dangerous that is? What if that woman saw you?"

"So what if she does?" Nick yanked free, examining his scratched flesh. "It's not like the fat bitch knows what we're doing here."

"Don't be so sure." Lauren rubbed her forehead, her mind whipping this information around. If Christmas had recognized her brother, if any of the rumors about the woman were true, Christmas might divine what Lauren and her brother were up to. "Father always thought it was Christmas who got him jailed for killing that dirty foreign bitch he married."

"How would she even know who I am? It's been over two decades and we were kids at the time."

Lauren nodded, though she remained unconvinced. It might be time to move the operation west. She'd known Christmas was in Central but the city had a large Ishbalan slum full of easy targets. The East, where the best pickings were to be had, was where Mustang was stationed. After what they had put him through when they were kids, Lauren knew that the slant-eyed freak would never forget them. The west would probably have Creatan slums they could cull the children from. She and her brother had more problems than even Mustang and Christmas. "I think we should stop selling to Beckert."

Nick's grey eyes dilated and he hiked his frame up on the seat. "Are you crazy? He's paying twice the normal rate."

"And he's setting fires. We keep telling him we have people to dispose of the dolls when they're broken," Lauren said, always using their code for the children they sold. She could never be sure someone wasn't listening in. "Discreetly. We haven't been caught once. I'm not about to start now. Besides, how long can he afford to keep paying us? He's well paid by that academy but not enough to match his appetites. He's got a taste for breaking his dolls."

Nick pouted like he always did ever since he was a kid. "Not yet. We can't quit yet. It's easy pickings here. We have a jailer who likes our dolls. He'd silence Beckert for us if the fool gets caught."

"You'd better hope that Beckert doesn't spill to the authorities _before_ he's jailed."

Nick rubbed his chin making it wobble like gelatin. "I wonder if the jailer would know any investigators who'd like a doll. These guys talk and share with each other."

"Look into it," Lauren said, turning back to her money. "And send Downard and Miller out to find us a few more dolls in the meantime." While her brother was busy with that, Lauren decided she'd get out the maps and check the south and the west for cities big enough to make their operation profitable. With Mustang in the east and now, apparently in Central, she wanted as far from him as possible. Too bad the north wouldn't allow for easy access to children. Limits or no, Lauren knew she could find something that would work.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Brother, shouldn't we call first?" Al glanced up at the house on Mayfair Street.

Ed waved his gloved hand at his brother. "It's the weekend. Even Hughes has to be off by now. Besides, it's nearly noon. It's not like we'll waking anyone up. They should be ready for lunch." As if on cue, a loud rumbling echoed out of the twelve year old's belly. Ed favored Al with a sly look that the younger boy didn't like. "I know you want to see the baby, Al."

If Al had lips, he'd be squeezing them tight and glowering right now. His brother thought he was oh so clever when it came to manipulating him. Al could see right through it but that didn't mean he was immune to Ed's machinations either. He really _did_ want to see Baby Elicia. Mr. Hughes had already sent pictures to Ed back east and wanted to send more but it was hard to contact them by mail since they moved so often. "I still think we should give them warning. What if the baby is sleeping?"

"All babies do is sleep, eat and poop. No matter what we do, we'll interrupt that." Ed bounded up the steps and rapped the knocker.

To Al's surprise, and no doubt Ed's, Mrs. Hughes was the one to answer the door. Her green eyes held so much exhaustion in them, Al felt it resonating in his armor. Still, her expression brightened ten-fold seeing them.

"Edward." Gracia hugged Ed tightly before he could squawk out a hello. "And Alphonse." She touched his metal jaw. "Whatever are you boys doing in town? Does Maes know?"

"He might. Mustang does nothing but blab on the phone to him all day instead of doing _real_ work," Ed said, putting his fingers to his ear as if he was holding a phone. "We're in town to help some guy with an old alchemy cache."

"Brother," Al said resigned to Edward's coarseness. Now poor Mrs. Hughes thought her husband did nothing but talk.

"You boys come on in."

"If you're too tired, we could always come back," Al said as Ed was already slithering inside.

"Nonsense, Alphonse. Come see the baby and Maes." Gracia waved him in and Al knew better than to argue.

He could hear Mr. Hughes talking to someone in the living room. He clattered to a stop seeing a dark-haired man sitting on the couch, awkwardly trying to hold a baby. Mustang's expression loudly proclaimed he wanted to be anywhere but on that couch. Maes kept trying to reposition Roy's hands under the baby.

"Roy, she's not a sack of potatoes. Why can't you…oh, Ed, Al, when did you get here?" Maes straightened up, shoving his glasses up his nose.

"What's Colonel Jerk doing here?" Ed pointed at Mustang.

"Sweeten the language, Ed." Hughes swept over, patting Ed hard on the back. His pat on Al's back was gentler, probably not wanting to have a booming sound startle his infant. "Come see the baby."

"You mean before Mustang drops her?" Ed went over to the couch, peering down at the baby.

"Gracia, she's squirming," Roy moaned.

Gracia sat next to him, moving her daughter closer to the crook of his arm. "There, Roy. If you support her head, you can hold her up for a better look. Elicia likes that. She enjoys being able to see faces."

"She is beautiful," Al said, his hands flexing.

"She really is," Ed reached out a finger and gently stroked Elicia's cheek. The baby's head turned, her lips smacking. "She's so soft." Ed yelped when the baby latched onto his finger.

"Don't worry, Ed." Gracia laughed. "She doesn't have teeth and she's always hungry."

"Do you need to feed her?" Roy seemed eager to hand the baby back off.

"No, she just ate." Gracia patted Roy's knee.

Al saw Mr. Hughes beckoning to him, getting him to move out of the way. Al reached out and hauled his brother back. Ed turned to complain but spotted Hughes' camera.

"Roy, look this way," Maes said and snapped the photo when his friend complied.

"Hughes! Damn it." Roy's face flushed.

"What did I just tell Ed, Roy? It applies to you, too," Hughes said, stooping down for a different angle.

"It's not like she understands," Roy protested.

"Hold her up and let her look in your face, Roy. It'll be a sweet picture," Gracia suggested. 

"You're as bad as he is," the alchemist huffed, shifting his grip so he could lift the baby up.

Al felt jealous. He wanted to hold the baby, too, but his inhuman hands would only frighten her. The jealousy lasted only as long as it took for Elicia to promptly spit up, milky vomit landing right in Mustang's eye, timed perfectly to the click of the camera. Ed burst out laughing as Mustang let out a low-pitched whine.

"Oops, sorry, Roy. That happens." Gracia produced a handkerchief like a magician, dabbing at Mustang's face. The alchemist held the baby as if frozen into place.

"Man, Hughes, I hope you got that picture," Ed crowed, wrapping his arms around himself, trying to hold himself together as he chuckled. He flopped down next to the coffee table.

"I do, too." Hughes pocketed the camera and took his child away from Mustang.

Mustang bolted up and fled in the general direction of what Al assumed to be the bathroom. He heard the stream of curses flowing out of the older alchemist's mouth. There were a few he hadn't heard before, not even from Ed.

"You're a naughty girl, Elicia," Hughes said, taking the handkerchief from his wife so he could wipe Elicia's mouth. "Have a seat, Ed. You can hold her now."

Ed's laughter abruptly stopped, his pupils dilating. "Me? And have her throw up again?"

"Eh, she usually only does it once." Hughes handed Elicia back to her mother so he could grab hold of Ed's arm. He tugged on Ed who dug into the floor like a badger.

"Hold her, brother," Al entreated, willing Edward to hear his own desire to get to hold the baby. Even if Hughes did put his child into Al's hands, Al wouldn't be able to get any real sensation from it. It would only serve to isolate him more.

Ed sighed, sitting next to Mrs. Hughes. She put the baby into his brother's living arm and Al wondered if that was deliberate to allow Ed to get the sensations Al longed for. Ed tickled under Elicia's chin with his gloved, metal hand and the baby kicked and gurgled. "Hey, you like me more than the dumb colonel. You can sense good people."

"Ed, stop warping the baby's mind," Al sat on the floor next to the couch, trying to feel like he belonged.

"You tell him, Alphonse," Mustang said, coming back into the room. The edges of his hair clung wetly to his face. "Hughes, next time warn me babies will explode."

Hughes shrugged. "I would have thought you knew by now."

Roy snorted at him. "Edward, you never answered Maes' question."

Ed tickled Elicia's belly and Al wondered for a moment if Ed would just ignore the man. Finally, Ed looked up from the gurgling baby. "Remember you told me about Mr. Bishop, Mustang."

Mustang expression went flat then brightened. "Oh, right the museum curator. He was bequeathed a collection of books and lab equipment."

"You thought there might be something in there for us," Ed replied.

"I don't know but if Bishop is right, then there is a good deal of older books. It's worth the look and you'd be doing the man a favor by helping him arrange things that people might be interested in, in a museum exhibit of alchemy tools." Roy's face twisted and Al shifted, expecting, even though he didn't know why, something bad. "This was not a good time to come."

"_You're_ the one who sent us," Ed reminded the older alchemist, somehow managing to keep his irritation under volume control. Alphonse decided then and there his brother holding a baby might be a good thing.

"That was before I asked him here, probably," Hughes interjected, reaching over the back of the couch so he could stroke his daughter's fine down of hair.

"What would that matter, sir?" Al asked.

"There has been a series of crimes." Hughes wrestled the words out, looking uncomfortable saying them. Al suspected that he didn't want to say them in front of his wife and child. "Against young people your age."

Ed huffed. "I can take care of myself."

"No one's doubting that," Mustang said but his expression suggested to Al that he did have some doubts. Alphonse found that odd. Mustang trusted Ed and him to do some pretty scary things. "But you do need to be careful. Maybe you can put off Bishop and come back later." The familiar smirk returned to Mustang's face as he added, "After all, you destroy so many things on your missions, you're probably not safe to have in a museum. It's better than you go."

"Fuc-"

Al clamped a hand over his brother's mouth before Ed could get the expletive all the way out. "Brother, be nice." He revised his thoughts about babies being calming influences.

"If there is something in those books, I'm not coming back later," Ed argued, worming free of his brother.

"If the boys are locked up in a museum, Roy, they should be just fine." Hughes patted his friend's shoulder and Mustang reluctantly nodded, obviously not appeased.

"What's happening to the kids?" Al asked when his brother seemed to be too occupied with either thoughts about whatever might be in the books or with the baby in hand. "What should we be aware of?"

"I wish I could answer that last one for you, Alphonse," Hughes said. "That would mean I'm close to solving this case. All we know is someone is killing the kids and setting buildings on fire. That's why I asked for Roy's help."

Gracia made an unhappy little sound. Al didn't blame her. When Mr. Hughes said 'crime,' Alphonse hadn't thought he meant murder.

"While I suspect any killer would regret taking you on, Fullmetal, once he sees your obnoxious personality, or more importantly that silver chain peeking out of your pocket, just be extra vigilant," Roy said.

"Always am. Nothing gets past me!" Ed waved a hand at him and Elicia murmured at the loss of the digits that had been rubbing her belly. Al knew Ed was lying. He knew that Mustang and Hughes didn't believe Ed but they let it lie. Ed would only get more stubborn if pushed. Al would be the vigilant one. It wasn't like he could be killed, not by the type of person who picked on children.

"Let's talk about happier things," Gracia said, plucking her daughter out of Ed's arms. Elicia's face scrunched as if she were about to cry. Gracia cooed to the child. "Roy, you are staying for dinner."

"I didn't want to be a bother. If I don't get back soon, Hawkeye will wonder what I'm doing. I was supposed to be just walking around town, clearing my head," Roy replied.

"You need to bring her here, too." Gracia raised a hand. "No argument."

"You shouldn't have to cook, Gracia. I know you're exhausted," Roy protested.

"You did offer to pay for a caterer." Hughes nudged Mustang.

"And I will. I can't get it here tonight, though. Trust me, eating your cooking once was enough for a lifetime. I think I could get the caterer here tomorrow," Roy replied and Ed laughed so loudly Elicia flung all four limbs up in the air, her eyes too wide for her head.

Ed covered his mouth, leaning closer to Gracia. "Sorry, sorry." Elicia grabbed Ed's dangling braid and stuffed a piece of it into her mouth, gumming it enthusiastically. Her eyes lit up as she tried the new taste sensation. "Oh, no, ew, ew." Ed tried to figure out how to extricate his hair. Al couldn't help laughing and neither could Mustang.

Gracia helped him. "Edward, babies find out about the world by putting it in their mouths. I'd keep anything you don't want to get slobbered on away from there."

"Ugh." Ed got up and followed the same path Mustang had taken to the bathroom, using a different set of cuss words.

Gracia stood and held Elicia out to Alphonse. "You can hold her, Alphonse."

He held up his huge hands. "I shouldn't. I might hurt her."

"Nonsense. I'll be right here," Gracia said, tucking the tiny baby into the crook of his metal arm.

Al did what his brother had, tickled her under the chin. He got the same bright grin but he couldn't appreciate the feel of her. Elicia kicked and his chest plate rang like a gong. The ridiculously startled expression played across her face again and Elicia gave him another kick and then another, her hands flailing.

"I think she likes you, Al," Mr. Hughes said, grinning.

"Oh good," Al said, hoping his voice didn't betray how he really felt; like a hollow boy, like he wasn't human, just a bell to be rung. Al was spared having to say anything else when Elicia's face scrunched up again and a noise like wet mud moving sounded. From the looks on Mustang's and Mr. Hughes's faces, Al knew there had to be a big stink to go with that.

"I don't suppose any of you men want to change her?" Gracia scooped up her baby as Ed came back, a horrified look on his face.

"Here's her father." Roy pushed Hughes forward.

Gracia snorted. "Last time I made him do it, he gagged so much I thought he was going to throw up on Elicia."

The phone rang and Hughes bolted across the room. "Saved."

Sighing, Gracia headed out of the room to change the baby. Hughes' expression radically altered, bringing Al to his feet. He'd be tense if he still had muscles.

"He's with me, Armstrong," Hughes said, turning to Roy. "Do you know where we can reach Riza and Breda?"

"Visiting officers quarters. It can't have happened again? In the middle of the day?" The snap in Mustang's voice made Al take a step back.

Ed frowned. "What? The kids?"

Hughes held up a hand for silence. "They're at the VOQ, Armstrong. Give them a call and get them ready for us. We'll meet you there." Hughes put the receiver down. "Sorry boys, we have to go. You can stay and keep Gracia company if you like and no, Ed, you can't help," he added, reading Ed's expression. "Roy, there was a fire last night on the edge of town. It just cooled enough for someone to get inside and find the body."

Mustang's hands balled. "Why weren't we told?"

Al hadn't ever seen such fury in Mustang's eyes before, not even when Ed was being his most trying.

"We have people looking into that. I'd better go tell Gracia," Hughes said.

"Tell her we're going, too." Ed held up his hands. "Not with you. We have to meet Bishop soon."

"Brother, don't be rude. Go tell her yourself," Al said. Ed grumbled but obeyed. In the end, they didn't leave with the older men. Gracia insisted on them staying long enough for her to feed Ed some cookies first and extract a promise that they'd soon return.

Al couldn't tell if Ed was thinking about what they had just learned or if his mind was already racing ahead to the alchemy. Given his uncharacteristic silence, Al thought it was the former. All Al knew for sure was that's where his own thoughts were centered.

* * *

"Should we all be here?" Riza picked her way over the charred wood and unrecognizable debris of the abandoned house.

"It might help," Maes said and Roy felt a barely suppressible urge to hit the man. Riza shouldn't ever have to be back at the scene of another fire, not after Ishbal, not after the things he did to her there. Roy knew that was a stupid thought. She was dedicated to him and by default would always be around fire and the damage it wrought. This wasn't Maes's fault.

"How did they even find a body in here?" Breda grumbled, following Armstrong deeper into what very little was left of the structure.

"They're trained," Roy muttered, trying to not look at anything. He didn't want to see. Just an hour ago, he held a new life in his arms. Now he was teetering on the edge. One misstep and he'd be back in Ishbal. "A house? Haven't they all been warehouses until now."

"This is different," Armstrong admitted, waving them over to where he stood. "This is all that's left."

Roy didn't want to see. He knew he had to. Breda peered around Armstrong's bulk then turned away. The look in Breda's eyes was as close to pure venom as Roy had ever seen. Riza reached out a hand to Roy for him to help her skirt some metal that he knew she could have gotten around on her own. She wanted to touch him, to reassure him she was right there with him. If it wasn't a child, Roy didn't think it would be so hard. The soldiers he had killed were no less dead than the Ishbalan children caught in his flames but he could reason that the soldiers had meant to kill him. He wasn't as affected. He was such a liar.

At his feet, something resembling a charcoal mannequin more than an once-living body sprawled. Roy let out a pent-up breath, some of the tension bleeding away. There was so little humanness left to this corpse that he was ashamed to say, he wasn't that he didn't feel as horrible as maybe he should. "Hughes, there is nothing I can tell you." Roy waved his hands over his head. "They didn't get to the fire in time. There's nothing left. No walls to read, no lizard skinning. Can Knox even tell us anything about this poor child?" Roy had no intention of going to another autopsy if he could help it.

"I sure as hell hope so. You're sure there is nothing you can tell us, Roy?" Hughes's verbal prod made Roy take another look against his will.

"If I had to guess, accelerants were used. An old wood house like this would burn fairly easily but it still takes a lot to reduce a human body to this." Roy swept a hand toward the young victim. "We're mostly water. This was enough to char bone. You need temperatures of nine hundred degrees or more to do that. In fact, I'd suggest whoever is going to transport this body to be very careful. The calcined bones could start to powder when you try to move them. You don't want to lose the head with the teeth intact."

"It looks like someone already damaged the head." Breda nodded to the crown of the victim's head, which sported a large hole. "That might be how they killed him."

"No, I'd bet when Knox does his examination, the bone edges there will bevel outward. Often the brain cooks in its own juice and the steam makes the skull crack open," Roy said and his aide went white. Roy wished he didn't know that tidbit but he had learned it so very early in the war. The first time he saw it happen, he had vomited all over his boots.

"I'll let them know when they're ready to transport," Maes said. "Anything more?"

"Yes, we need to get to the damn fires faster," Roy snarled, making his friend glare at him. "I'm not a miracle worker. There's nothing here to read. I don't know what we need to do to get it across that we need to be notified immediately if _anything_ catches fire but that's what I need. I could even stop the fire if we get there in time."

Riza made a soft sound, warning him to calm down. He twisted around to look at her full on and she said, "We might also want to find out who owned this house and figure out if switching from warehouse to house has any significance."

Roy nodded. "Easier to burn down but at a higher risk. It would be easier to get trapped in here."

"Not to mention there are neighbors. We'll look into it," Maes said.

"We still haven't found anyone searching for these poor children," Armstrong's moustache drooped. "I find that mystifying."

"I think we might be right in thinking that all of them are from the Ishbalan slums," Maes retorted.

"I might be able to help us there. I'll need to make a few calls," Roy said and Maes nodded. The alchemist knew Maes understood he meant to contact someone who had been one of Christmas's girls when they were growing up. Only a quarter Ishbalan, she looked more full blooded but things between Shanti and her two 'brothers' who had become soldiers had been strained for years. He didn't blame Shanti for hating him.

"Do that," Maes said, turning back to his investigation.

"I'll do it now." Roy knew he sounded too eager but he didn't care. These people knew him, trusted him, and wouldn't think him a coward. "Do you want me to leave Breda and Riza?"

"Leave Breda. Riza can help you," Maes muttered, giving Roy the answer he wanted. As much as he trusted Breda, there were things Roy didn't want the man to know about. Madam Christmas was one of those things. He and Riza, both lost in their own thoughts, headed off to find the woman who knew more about the town than was probably healthy for her. Roy knew they would need his mother to help them crack this nut.

* * *

"Mr. Beckert!"

The middle-aged man turned to the child calling his name. An eleven year old boy with the cutest dimples stood there, pointing to the torn and bloodied knee of his uniform pants. "It looks like you took a tumble, Master Fischer. Have a seat and we'll have a look at it."

The boy sat on the exam table while Beckert gathered up some peroxide, cotton swabs and some gauze and tape. Timothy Fischer's leg was a creamy pale color that Beckert would have loved to lap up if he could. The boy's knee had taken a bad scrape. Beckert hated seeing such nubile flesh damaged. Tenderly, he swabbed away the blood. "There, it doesn't look so bad. How did this happen?"

"We were playing ball and Bill Chapman tripped me." Timothy pouted.

As delightful as Fischer's lip was, Beckert's mind turned to Chapman. A wealthy bully, the boy had limpid blue eyes and a wiry body that Beckert thought of often. "That wasn't fair of him," the nurse muttered. As he bandaged up Fischer's knee, all he could think of was calling Nick Hograth and ordering another doll that he could safely play with. The only problem was the dirty street urchins they found for him were no match for the vigorous boys surrounding him at Breckenridge Academy. He wondered what a child of the likes he played nursemaid to daily would cost him as a doll. What a wonderful thought?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Thanks for getting this together so quickly for me, Madam," Roy said, leaving Riza in his mother's living room so the younger kids could play with Hayate. Riza handed the leash off to one of them, hurrying down the hall after him. He had told her he wanted to handle Shanti alone but obviously his lover thought this was not one of his better ideas.

Chris rapped quickly on the door to her private den. "You might not be thanking me in a few minutes. I'll leave you to it."

Steeling himself, Roy stepped into the den. The smell of stale smoke washed over him. He really wished his mother would quit that dirty, stinking habit; her and Havoc so the office wouldn't reek, too. Roy didn't have time to think too much about it. His foster sister stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed, looking as formidable as General Olivia Armstrong after someone snapped her bra strap.

Her arms unfolded, reminding him of Bradley or Armstrong's sword being pulled from their sheathes. Shanti stalked over to him, her long white hair in so many fine plaits. Roy spared a moment to wonder if she copied that look from his real sister. "I don't want to talk to you," she growled, her sherry-colored eyes flicking toward Riza. "Or her."

"You came here," Roy reminded her. "I know you did it for the madam's sake, not mine. I'm not here to ask you to do me a favor."

"You've always been so full of bullshit." Shanti stabbed a nut-brown finger into his chest. She had the hair and skin coloring of an Ishbalan but he wondered if her eyes would put off the people he planned to send her to meet. "Why you're her favorite is beyond me."

Roy gaped. "Favorite?"

"Just shut up. It was a mistake coming here." Shanti pushed past him but Riza moved to block the doorway. "You're a killer and I don't want anything to do with you."

"I want you to help me stop someone from raping and murdering Ishbalan children," he blurted out, making her wheel about. There was not going to be any finessing this woman, so baldly getting to his point was the only option.

"What?"

"Someone has been using fire to cover up the deaths of these children, which is why Maes called me in."

"If you want to find someone who kills Ishbalan children with fire, go look in the mirror," Shanti hissed, making Riza flinch.

The harshness of her words slapped him like a scourge, drawing blood. Roy felt the moisture gathering in his eyes but he would not give Shanti the satisfaction. "I spared every child I could and this isn't about me. I can't change the past but I can stop someone from killing here and now but I need your help."

"Why should I help you?"

"Because we can't find the parents of these missing children. We know a few are Ishbalan. We're assuming they all are and are from the tent cities. What investigator could go there and expect much help? It's probably not even going to be possible to figure out who these children belonged to but we have to try." Roy swallowed down air, steadying his nerves. "We have to warn them before even more die."

Shanti's expression melted, if only a little. "You want me to go in there and find out who is missing their babies."

"And to warn them," Roy reiterated. "They wouldn't believe me. I could stand in the middle of the encampment and scream it and you know no one would listen. Hell, they'd be afraid we were there to move them someplace worse."

She threw her head back, her braids writhing like snakes. "You want me to do your job."

"No, I want you to actually do what you're always talking about," Roy countered, feeling the heat rising in his face. Could she hate him so much as to spite him on this? "You've never lived in the desert any more than I've lived in Xing but I know you identify with the Ishbalans the way I do with the Xingese culture. You're getting a chance to help them."

Shanti's shoulders slumped and she tipped her chin down. "I'll do it but to help them, not you."

"Fine. Please ask any of them missing children to go to 368 Kisor Road, it's a medical clinic. Dr. Knox works there," he said, not telling her it was the city morgue. "That might be less frightening than trying to come to the base to get answers. Or, if you think it would be better, have them come here and let the madam act as intercessor for us."

"I'll tell the madam if I make any progress." Shanti stalked toward the door. This time Riza stepped aside and let her go.

Roy waited for the door to bang shut before he let go, letting his emotions wash up over him. Riza pulled him to her. He wished she hadn't because at some point she would have to let go.

* * *

"Brother, maybe we should listen to the colonel," Al said, standing near the bench his brother lounged on in the museum lobby.

"Why? He's a pain in the ass." Ed shrugged. "We aren't kids, Al. We can take care of ourselves." He glanced up at his brother. Even though Al no longer had a face to read, Ed could usually tell what his brother was thinking. Al was spooked.

"Be fair, Ed. He's trying to help us. Without his assistance, we'd never have access to libraries and museums or know the names of alchemists who might be able to help."

Ed waved him off. Al, naturally, was right. He usually was. That didn't mean Ed had to like Mustang. Okay, he liked the guy to a point but Mustang was so smug, so annoying. Both of them owed the man. Ed hated owing anyone. And he had threatened Al. With one phone call, Mustang could doom them. No one would look kindly upon what Al and he had done. Of course, he could always say Mustang had known all along and get him in trouble, as well. Ed had two main goals but they weren't exactly the goals Al thought Ed had. He had to make sure Al didn't end up locked in a lab as a rat for study and to get his brother's body back. That was even more important than his limbs, not that he had given up on that himself.

"Are you two the Elric brothers?" An old man thumped his way slowly across the lobby. He had obviously never been a tall man and now, he had shrunk to child-sized. His bald head reminded Edward of an egg with just the faintest hint of down covering it. His cane, a flight of fancy comprised of a carved tree and many birds, echoed in the large, marble-floored room as he walked.

"Mr. Bishop?" Ed asked hesitantly. This man had to be old when Pinako was Winry's age. He _was_ a museum item, not a curator.

The antique squinted at Ed. "My, you're younger than the Colonel led me to believe but I suppose you didn't get that silver pocket watch for nothing." He stabbed the cane toward Ed's hip. He glanced up at Al. "I would have thought _you'd_ be the Fullmetal Alchemist but…" Bishop shrugged. "I'm sure you want to see the items we're considering for the exhibit."

"Yes, sir," Alphonse said. "And I'm his brother, Alphonse. The colonel probably told you about me, too."

His egg of a head wobbled in an approximation of a nod. "This way, boys."

Ed thought he himself would die of old age by the time Bishop got to the bronze outer doors of the elevator. He kept trying to hurry the fossil along but the curator had one speed and he was determined to stick to it. Al was no help. He was too busy admiring the floral array of the bronze work over the elevator. Thankfully, Bishop showed no interest in going to his office or having tea and conversation. He plunged them into the dank, musty bowels of the museum, heading into the dimly lit corridors of the basement with the same pace. Ed hoped any danger that might be on his heels would move at Bishop's favorite speed.

"All of this came from the Wiggins estate. The last two, twin brothers, never married and the line died out. They willed their alchemy books and the stuff from their lab to us," Bishop said, shoving a fat, iron key into a lock that had to date from sometime early last century. "I know most of it is quite old and not tremendously useful to today's alchemist. However, I know that just because it's old, it doesn't become unimportant."

_Yeah, you're living proof so you have to think that_, Ed thought but he said, "What do you think we can help you with?"

"Colonel Mustang said you would be interested in looking at the books and I was hoping you could help me cherry pick some of the best bits of the lab equipment to set up an exhibit." He flipped on the lights and a bare bulb hanging on a wire cast a yellowish light around the storage room. It was more spacious than Ed expected. "I was thinking of an 'alchemy through the ages theme'."

_Because you've seen all the ages_. Wanting to get a look at the stuff Ed kept that thought to himself as well. "We could try."

With a surprising show of strength, Bishop pulled the nearest box down and set it on the ground. "I'm afraid the brothers weren't much in the way of organizing things and neither was whomever boxed up their belongings. You'll have to root about to find what you need. There's no rush, boys. This exhibit won't get done for months, if not longer."

"We'll organize as we go," Al offered, making Ed wince. Naturally, his neat as a pin brother would say that. Al couldn't stand things out of place. Ed had never given a damn. Things could lie where they hit.

Bishop brightened considerably. "Wonderful. Will you boys need my help? I have a meeting in an hour. If you want, I could simply leave you here with the key and let you work."

"We work best on our own," Ed said. "Alchemy books are usually in code. Finding out anything helpful to the museum could take awhile."

Tapping his cane on the floor, delight in his soft eyes, Bishop grinned. "Then I'll leave you boys to it. If you need me, my office is on the first floor. Anyone can tell you how to get there." Bishop surrendered the key and slowly limped his way out of the musty storage bin.

When Ed no longer heard the cane, he muttered, sitting down to exam a box, "He has to leave now. It'll take him an hour to get back to that office."

"Brother." When Al didn't sound reproachful, Ed glanced up and his younger sibling continued, "Now I know what you're going to look like in seventy years, Ed."

The sound of a thick book banging off Al like a gong could probably have been heard all the way to Bishop's office.

* * *

Riza padded through the city center, having left Breda behind with Armstrong to check what few dental records they had against the x-rays Knox had taken of the children. Her own mission was to find out more about the abandoned house. Maes was handling the official investigation of it, who owned it and for how long, but he wanted her to talk to the people who lived around it. They hadn't been overly willing to talk to uniformed officers the night of the fire so Riza had traded her casual blues for an understated pale green dress. Only her sensible shoes might give her away as something more threatening than a nosy young lady. Maes had handled that contingency, too. He had given her a little badge that claimed she worked for the _Central Tattler_ and she didn't want to know where he got the false i.d. badge from.

After trying to find any neighbors at home without success – this information gathering occupation was harder than she had anticipated – Riza was about to head back for the office, having wasted her time. Maybe Maes would be better off sending someone from investigations who was more experienced. As she made her way back up the street, she spotted two people who hadn't been outside before and who hadn't answered the door when she knocked. Maybe she hadn't given them enough time, she thought, seeing their advanced age.

Two elderly women, identical twins, appeared to be taking advantage of the break in the rain to start digging around in the flower beds, removing the stems of the autumn-killed plants. Both of them had curly white hair worn in a bob and wide-lenses glasses that made her think they might hoot any moment. They wore pink jackets over pale blue blouses and surprisingly enough, had on denim pants and work boots. These were women used to working with the ground. Riza wondered briefly what it was like to be a twin. She had gone to school with a pair of twins, wealthy, pretty, inseparable and insufferable. These old sisters had a kind twinkle in their eyes but still, to be together after all these years? Had they ever married, she wondered? Had they spent their lives joined and never venturing out of the other's sphere of influence?

"Are you looking for someone, miss?" one of them asked, edging closer to the white washed fence around the edge of their property.

"I was curious about that house." Riza pointed down to rubble on the corner. Workers were still sifting through the ashes and putting things in a large trash bin. "Do you know who lived there?"

The happy twinkles died out, replaced with suspicion. "Why do you want to know?"

Thanking Maes for his forethought, Riza dug out her fake press pass. "I'm Liz Emmins."

The twins squinted at the badge. "Why would you want to write about that old house?"

"My editor is considering a story about how the loss of one home can affect the entire community around it. I can't promise he'll publish it though," Riza said. "You know how men can be about the human interest stories."

One of the twins snorted. "Men only think their cores are made of stone, dearie."

Riza smiled at that, thinking about the mushy middles of Roy, Armstrong, Maes and the other men under Roy's command. The Elric brothers had pudding hearts for all of Ed's bluster. "I'm sure you're right."

The slightly shorter of the twins rested her gnarled hands on the fence. "I'm Daisy and this is Rose. We're the Ramsteiner girls." She smiled. "We could take a little time to help."

"We could," Rose added. "Mrs. Beckert used to own that house. She was a real dear. I remember her sitting on the porch when we were just girls."

"The house went to her son and then her grandson I think but we haven't seen _tha_t boy in these parts in years." Daisy sniffed. "Thinks he's too good for Spooner Street. He's a nurse."

"Got himself a position at some fancy shmancy academy."

Riza tried not to wag her head back and forth in a vain attempt to follow the narrative as it shifted, lightning quick, between the twins as if they had but one collective brain with two mouth pieces. "Do you know the name?"

The twins shook their head in unison.

Daisy frowned. "He never had time for a pair of old women. This street, it's been dying for a decade. The young folk move away. It's a shame."

"There are a few other empty houses. It makes me nervous," Rose said.

"I'd be happy if someone moved into those places. There's nothing wrong with them a little work couldn't fix," her sister continued the train of thought. "I'd even be happy if they allowed some of the Ishbalans from that terrible tent slum on the edge of town have the buildings."

"They could certainly use the homes," Rose agreed. "Never did understand all the flap about Ishbalans in the first place. I knew many of them back before that terrible war, decent folk."

"I'm sure," Riza replied, liking the twins.

She tried to tease more information from the sisters but all she learned were the names of people who had left homes vacant. Riza thought it was worth something. They could be used as the next site if the killer knew the area. "Did you see anything last night, before the fire?"

"Oh no, dear," Daisy said.

"We're in bed by nine," Rose added.

"The fire engines woke us up. It was dreadful thing to see."

Riza offered her condolences, poked around the edges of a few more questions without much luck before heading back to the base. Maes and Armstrong would want these names quickly.

* * *

Breda didn't have a clue why Mustang was so adamant about him coming to the library. He wasn't sure what kind of information about the case that could be gleaned from it. Hughes already had a copy of most of the newspaper articles that applied to the case, looking for connections between the building's owners and possible suspects. So far, that had been a dead end.

He headed over to the reference desk as instructed. The lady behind the counter wasn't his idea of a librarian. There was nothing stern or aged about her. "Excuse me. I'm looking for a Miss Agashe."

"Look no more." Her deep brown eyes glittered. "I'm Kavita Agashe and you must be Lieutenant Breda. Roy described you perfectly."

Eyeing the way her chest jutted against the brilliantly scarlet and gold cloth of her blouse, the soft curls of her walnut hair against her deeply tanned skin, the slightly southern lilt to her voice and the only thought to Breda's mind was _Damn it, she's not one of __**Mustang's**__ fawning hoard, is she?_ Breda wasn't sure if all the girls Mustang flirted with were actually his lovers. He knew some of the people Mustang flirted with on the phone weren't his lovers and that a certain few were actually Mustang's team members, not that anyone could learn that easily. Breda would die if anyone learned he was Helen and it was hard as hell trying to fake a female voice when he called in undercover. "He wasn't as kind to describe you. He gets…protective."

"Jealous, you mean." She beamed, showing him a mouthful of very white teeth. The mirth faded quickly. "You did get a call from a Major Armstrong. He wanted you go call as soon as you got here. Normally we don't do this but follow me."

Ponderings about what terrible thing had happened now ruined the otherwise wonderful view of the way Kavita's skirt clung to her shapely hips. Breda was glad Havoc was back in the East. He'd be tripping over his own tongue following this librarian. Maybe having a librarian like this would make a reader out of Havoc but Breda doubted it. She led him to a cramped, cluttered office. She gestured to the half-hidden phone on her desk. "You can use that."

He didn't really want to make her leave but Breda had to give her a look that conveyed the need to be alone. It took two tries to get the military operators to connect him with Armstrong.

"Lieutenant Breda, we will need you to return here directly once you've accomplished your task," Armstrong said.

"What happened?"

"They found another body in the rubble, one we missed last night. It was under a part of collapsed roof." The pain in the big man's voice was palpable even over a staticky phone line.

"Damn. I'll be there as quick as I can." Breda hung up and peeked back outside. Kavita lounged against the wall, waiting on him.

"Something's wrong," she said.

He held up a hand. "Just your usual military stuff. I'll have to be as quick as I can here, regretfully."

Her eyebrows cocked up. "Regretfully."

"You seem like someone I might enjoy talking to," Breda replied, to hell with Mustang. He would have to come back here when he wasn't on duty. "Though I'm not sure what the colonel expected you to be able to help me with."

"You would be surprised. This is Central Library. We house a great deal of information here. Some of it Roy would have to come get himself as only alchemists are allowed in those vaults. Even he's not high ranking enough for certain areas of the library." She tapped her chest. "The librarians have to be very trusted."

"I stand corrected." Breda smiled at her. "What do you have for me?"

Kavita pushed past him, going back into her office. She lifted up a stack of folders. "This has the genealogy of some of the names the colonel gave me. Also, there are newspaper articles that might be of assistance. There are some pictures of the structures that burned or at least ones that we had prints of."

Something almost sad flitted across her finely featured face, a sadness Breda couldn't quite account for. He peered into the folders, seeing newspapers carefully folded up and pictures paper clipped. Some things bore little notes, including one that said for "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes's eyes only.' That made him curious but Breda knew better than to pry. "I'm sure it'll help," he said, even though he wasn't convinced. "I'd better go."

"Glad to be a help." Kavita smiled at him. "You know, you might be someone I'd like talking to as well. I hope you come back when you're off duty."

Breda knew he had to be the same shade as his hair. "I'd like that. I know I won't be free tonight but maybe tomorrow. Would it be inappropriate to ask you to dinner?"

"No, I think it's a very appropriate and wonderful idea. You can call me here." She smiled again, her fingers brushing his hand.

Breda forced himself into motion. "I will, but I really do have to go."

"I'll walk you out."

Breda added one more reason to hate the murderers.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Lauren knew if she watched the bar, eventually her patience would be rewarded. She hadn't seen the bitch who put her father in jail to die, not in years. Christmas had come and gone several times while Lauren watched from across the way, sitting on a park bench. She counted herself lucky to have a handy park as a cover. Lauren made sure the wide brim of her ridiculous floppy-brimmed hat was pulled down. The last thing she needed was for that woman to spot her.

She almost got up and left when night fell but there might be more to gain by waiting. Lauren had kept tabs on Mustang, but not immediately after he first left their household. There was too much turmoil for that and, at the time, she had no idea the little brat she used to burn with her father's lighter would amount to anything. Lauren never expected him to become a hero. Once he came back a lauded war veteran, she decided it was in her best interests to know where Mustang was. He carried grudges, at least when he was a sniveling whiner hanging onto that slant-eyed bitch of a mother.

To her delight, Lauren spotted someone heading for the bar: Mustang and a lanky man she didn't know. They didn't even look her way. She didn't dare go into the bar to spy on them but maybe she should wait and see where they went next. Granted, she might be here the rest of the night. Lauren knew for sure that it was no longer safe in Central for Nick and her. If Mustang found out what they were doing, he could kill them with a snap of his finger and call them terrorists. He'd probably earn another medal. Nick and she would have to be careful.

* * *

"I can't believe Mom gave you your own love nest." Maes pouted at the couch in the little apartment above the bar. "She never gave me a love nest."

"You never dated a girl you couldn't be seen with," Roy reasoned, setting the files Breda had gotten from Kavita.

"No." Maes threw his arms around Roy, pressing into his back while nibbling the smaller man's neck. "Just you." His hands ventured down Roy's body. He squeezed Roy's crotch. "But you don't count as a girl."

Roy tried to squirm away. "Maes, we have a lot of work to do."

"And he hasn't visited the pharmacy yet," Riza said, coming in with a tray of sandwiches. "And your mother and at least one sister are on their way up. Try not to sear their eyes with your inability to keep on track."

"I have too visited the pharmacy but it's still all back at my temporary quarters," Roy protested. "And I'm _not_ the one misbehaving."

"Ah, so that little dance you were doing was an escape attempt. I thought…" Riza shrugged, her lips quirking up.

"Have you ever seen me be _that_ graceless about it?" Roy stabbed a finger at her. "Don't answer that."

"Eat a sandwich to shut that death trap of yours," Maes suggested cheerfully as he sat down on the couch.

"I'm _not_ just a sex toy," Roy grumbled, throwing himself sideways onto a padded chair.

"Do I even want to know?" Christmas asked, coming into the room with a pitcher of beer in hand.

"No, you don't. Gross, Roy boy," Janina, his sister who usually tended bar, added, swinging into the room with a tray of glasses.

Roy flushed but recovered enough to shoot back, "You only say that because you haven't…"

Riza stuffed the end of a still-wrapped sandwich into his mouth. Glaring at her, he plucked it out and peeled away the paper. He took a bite of his food.

"Ah, he does eat. I was beginning to think he lived on the foods he merely imagined." Christmas set the beer down.

"Don't make me show you just how rock hard my belly is. I'm _wiry_ not _skinny_."

"Roy," Riza said with just enough sharpness to make him swing his legs off the arm of the chair and sit up straight. He reached for a file without being told.

"Why did you tell me to send someone for this stuff, Madam?" Roy looked up at his mother then dutifully took another bite.

"There might be things in there you can use," she replied, patting Roy on the head. "Eat two sandwiches."

Roy yanked up his shirt. "I'm not skinny."

"No, just silly." Janina said before darting out the door.

Roy glared, letting his shirt fall back down. Why did he always feel like he was twelve when he came to see his mother?

"Roy, here, pair up the blueprints with these photos Kavita sent along." Maes pushed the blueprints Roy's way. "I'm going to give Gracia a call and tell her it'll be a late night. Hmmm, phone's probably downstairs."

As Maes headed for the door, Hayate perked up, trotting over. Riza set the beer pitcher down before pouring herself a glass. "I'll go walk Hayate and come back to help."

"And I'd better get back to my own business," Christmas said. "If you need me, Roy boy, you know where to find me."

"You don't want to help me match photos to boring blueprints." He made eyes at his mother.

She snorted. "That look has no effect on me." Christmas patted him on the head again and left.

Roy unrolled the first of the blueprints, poured a beer, drank it and helped himself to more. He wasn't cut out for this investigation crap. He could stare at an array all night long but blueprints? Boring. He nosed into the files and saw one marked for Hughes only. Why the hell would Kavita do that? Roy took out the wad of newspapers and sat back with his beer and his half-eaten sandwich. Reading quickly and processing the information was much more his forte.

Maybe by losing himself in the black and white past held in his hands, Roy could forget that they had found another body in that rubble. A boy and a girl. Maes and Armstrong had gone uncharacteristically silent at the escalation. Roy couldn't decide it Maes's playfulness when they got into the apartment was merely to cover his own bad mood or if he really did want a short break to lose himself in pleasure to try and wash out the horrible images in his head.

Roy didn't have to work hard to figure out what articles Kavita thought pertained to the case or should he say Chris thought since he had no doubts who was the one who sent Kavita after the stuff. His sister had folded the borrowed newspapers and put them in the folder so that the stories were face up. The sandwich in his mouth turned to cement and he could barely swallow it. His stomach lurched, moving the bite back up his esophagus. It took a drowning of beer to get the food back down. Stewart Hograth. He couldn't escape that bastard's name. It had been haunting him ever since he learned of what was happening here.

Hand shaking, Roy set the sandwich down. He drained the beer and then a second before eating the sandwich. He shifted through the papers until he found one that was two full pages of court proceedings. As a little boy, Roy had been aware that the man who killed his mother had been sent to jail. His older sister and Chris Mustang made sure he didn't see too much of it. He had been upset about it at the time. It wasn't like Sis had been that much older but Hograth had hurt her less often. His sister was so tough. As he grew older, Roy realized that he had been so badly hurt by Hograth that Chris hadn't wanted him to relive any of it. With that in mind, he should probably put the paper down. He wasn't a child any more so, stubborn, Roy read on. He already knew that Hograth beat his mother to death after she found out Hograth was abusing her children. She hadn't confronted the man. She tried to run in the middle of the night but those horrible children of his had woken up and told their father. Roy hated those brats as much as their murdering pedophile father.

His gaze snagged on the recounting of Hograth's charges. Pedophile ring…selling children. Now he understood why Kavita had selected…selling? The word rang inside Roy, shattering walls. Forgotten agonies oozed past the gaping holes. Roy hunched up, dropping the paper. He could feel Hograth's hands on his hips. Clenching down hard on his internal muscles, Roy propelled himself up off the couch before he did something in his pants he hadn't done since Hograth was his 'daddy.'

Barely making it to the cramped bathroom in time, Roy wasn't even sure of his aim. The only thing he could see was what he had blocked out for oh so very long. Hograth handing him off to men whose faces he still couldn't see, didn't want to see, might go insane if he remembered all the details. He couldn't let them find him again. Under the bed? No, he always got hauled out by an ankle then beaten before it started. He had to get out of here.

Stumbling downstairs, he heard the voices. Lured into the crowded bar, he felt safe. He could hide among the masses. Janina's face went pale seeing him as he took the bottle from her. Roy found a table in a dark corner that no one wanted and pressed himself into it.

* * *

"Roy, you need to hear about the very cute thing Elicia did today," Maes said, bounding back into the apartment. He looked around, seeing no one, hearing nothing. He assumed Riza was still waiting for Hayate to find the perfect tree to potty on but where did Roy go? "Roy?" Maes went to check out the back rooms but the only evidence Roy had been around was a half-eaten sandwich, a drained beer glass and papers everywhere. He was always such a mess. Maes leaned down to pick them up when Riza came back with Hayate. "Did Roy decide to follow you out with the dog?"

Riza shook her head, letting Hayate off his leash. "No. Why?"

"He's not here and, while we all know how he likes to get out of doing stuff, this wouldn't be one of those times," Maes said, his tone far more serious than he usually was.

"Maybe he went downstairs to ask for appetizers instead of sandwiches. You know how picky about food he is." Riza snapped a finger at Hayate who was pressing his nose against the coffee table, eyeing the sandwiches.

"Maybe." Maes glanced down at the papers in his hand. His eyes widened, his stomach dropping to his toes.

"Maes, what's wrong?" Riza said, picking up on his fear.

Maes flung the paper down on the couch. "He was reading about Hograth's trial. We need to find him."

"Why would he…damn him." Riza, still holding the leash, scooped Hayate up and followed Maes back down the stairs. They nearly collided with Christmas and Janina.

Christmas caught Maes by the arm. "You know what's wrong with Roy, don't you?"

"He's in there downing a bottle of whiskey like it's water," Janina's voice squeaked tightly. "He's going to end up in the hospital if he doesn't stop."

"He read a newspaper article about Hograth or so I assume," Maes growled.

"We only left him alone for five minutes," Riza pushed forward, heading into the bar.

"I had those marked for you only, Hughes," Christmas said.

"Roy is too nosy for his own damn good," Maes replied. "And that's coming from the nosiest man around."

"He's his own worst enemy." Christmas stomped across her bar. Roy looked up at his family and lovers converging on him. Maes doubted Roy could even accurately tell who was standing before him. In the short span of time he was out of Maes's sight, Roy had consumed far too much alcohol. His eyes had glazed over. Maes made a mental count. From the dent in the pitcher, at least two glasses of beer and a frightening amount of whiskey, provided he had gotten a full bottle, had already passed Roy's lips. He weaved on his seat when Christmas snatched away the bottle, thrusting it at Janina. Roy's bottom came off the seat as he thought about lurching after the bottle, hesitated and flopped back down at the glare the older woman used to melt him.

"That was mine," he grumbled.

"No, technically it's _mine_," Christmas countered. "I own this place and you are cut off."

"I am not," Roy whined like a petulant child.

"Let's go back upstairs, Roy," Riza said, reaching a hand out to him.

"No, I can't." Roy swung off the seat in the opposite direction, trying to rabbit past them.

Maes got in front of him. "Roy, come on, let's just go upstairs or to the madam's office, all right? This is not the place to talk."

Roy shoved past him, remarkably solid for a lean, little drunk. He managed to skirt away and get all the way outside before Maes caught back up to him, dragging him to a halt. Riza, Hayate struggling in her arms, and Christmas followed them out into the balmy autumn night. "Let me go," Roy said without any heat to his voice.

"No, not right now. Let's go inside, Roy," Maes said. "Let's talk while your brain is still actually processing things."

"I need to walk," Roy argued, trying to pull Maes down the sidewalk.

"Roy, you really need to come inside." Riza took his hand.

"No." Roy jerked so hard, he pulled Riza off her feet, spilling her to the sidewalk. "Riza!" The alchemist tried to catch her before she hit the concrete but lost his own balance. Maes caught him by the belt loops before he slammed Riza even harder into the ground. The taller man steadied Roy for a moment then leaned down to help Riza up.

Christmas caught hold of Roy. "Son, please, you need to calm down."

Roy glanced back at Riza, biting his bottom lip. Hayate danced around her, barking. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. Is she all right, Hughes?" 

"I'm fine, Roy," Riza said, examining her bleeding elbow. "Are you ready to come back inside? Let's just go to the apartment and sit down."

"I can't…please, got to walk, gotta think." Roy covered his mouth, trying to stem the ragged sob that ripped past his throat. "He was selling kids for sex."

Christmas held out her arms and Roy folded himself into them. He clenched her white-knuckled tight, his fingers digging into her fleshy shoulders. She didn't flinch, merely holding him tighter. "He is dead, baby boy. He can't hurt you any more."

"But you think that's what I'm facing now," Maes said softly, bending down to pick Hayate up, hoping to hush the beast.

"I do. That's why _your_ name was on those files. Should have known Roy couldn't resist," Christmas said, stroking Roy's back.

"He does get into trouble," Riza said, taking her dog from Maes as Roy squirmed free of his mother.

For a moment, Maes thought Roy was going to go inside but instead he started walking. "Roy, you should go back into the apartment."

"Want to walk, clear my head," Roy said, nearly staggering into a lamp post.

Maes sighed, glancing back at the two women. "I'll walk with him and give you a call once I manage to get him to lie down someplace and pass out."

"Take care of him," Riza said, "I'll stay here and work. The Madam can help me sort through some of this. I'll call Breda over if need be."

Maes nodded and trotted off after Roy who had scooted further down the street than the investigator would have thought possible. He didn't try to reach for Roy. He merely kept pace with him. "We should call you a cab, Roy."

Roy looked at him, his head bobbling like a child's toy. "How is that walking and clearing my head?"

Maes sighed again. "Do you want to talk about it, Roy?"

"I didn't remember so much of what that man did to me. Enough to make me sick. Hell, every time it rains I think about him. He loved to come to our rooms when it was storming." Roy stumbled over uneven sidewalk and Maes caught hold of the man's shirt, keeping him on his feet. "Damn…I forgot about the others. Until now. Hograth had a fishing cabin on the lake, that's what he told Mom it was. Those men…they'd swap us kids like Creatan courtesan postcards."

"You just had to disregard the warning."

"I'm sorry," Roy whispered.

Maes had no doubt of it.

* * *

"Ed, it's pretty late," Al said, looking up at the street lamps.

"It's _not _that late. The diner was still open," Ed protested.

"Brother, it's a diner. I'm not sure they ever close." Al shrugged. "We stayed at the museum too long and we didn't get much done." Al's head swiveled toward his brother. Ed thought for a moment Al's eyes narrowed even though he knew it was impossible. "And you didn't help me that much."

"I wanted to start cataloging the books," Ed said, though the truth was he had been caught up in a particularly interesting, rhyming code.

Al harrumphed at him.

Ed yawned prodigiously, rubbing his belly. "That was a really good smashed potato dish but now I'm sleepy."

"If we had left the museum when I said," Al said but Ed waved a hand at him. He didn't want to hear his brother telling him what they should have done for the tenth time.

"It's not that much further to our quarters."

"Brother, what if Lieutenant Colonel Hughes and the colonel are right? What if there is someone dangerous out here?" Al glanced around, making Ed do the same in spite of himself. He didn't see anything in the shadows.

"What would anyone want with us, Al? We," he hooked a thumb at his chest, giving Al his best grin, "can handle ourselves."

"But they said this person was killing kids." Al put a hand on his brother's arm. "Why would anyone do that?"

Ed didn't want to think about it. "Don't know."

"Brother…do you think they did things to the kids first before killing them?"

At Al's drawn out, hesitant tone, Ed stopped, giving his brother his full attention. "What do you mean, Al?"

"You know…things."

If metal could blush, Ed knew Al would look like a horseshoe freshly pressed to the anvil. "Do you mean…sex?" Ed uttered that last word in a soft hiss. "Al!"

"Think about it, brother. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes and the colonel weren't telling us something. Killing kids is bad enough but did you see their faces?"

Ed nodded. "I thought they weren't telling us everything but that? Hmmm. I guess." He shrugged. "That would mean we _really_ have nothing to worry about. Who would want me?" He gestured to his metal leg with his equally metal hand.

"Is it a matter of want?"

"I don't know, Al. What I do know is I'm not running away. How will we ever get our bodies back if I run at the first sign of danger?" Ed asked, shamefully grateful that his brother lapsed into silence.

They walked farther along the street, getting closer to their hotel, before Alphonse broke the silence. He raised his hand, pointing. "Is that the colonel and Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?"

"Damn it, why? What the hell could they possibly want, following us?" Ed growled.

"I don't think they are, brother. They're in front of us, after all. Colonel Mustang looks sick. He can hardly walk." Al's voice was steeped with sympathy.

Ed snorted. "That's not sick. He looks drunker than that miniature hag Pinako when her card-playing friends come around." He stalked over to the two adults. "Hey, Colonel Shit, what's wrong?

"Brother." Al's leather fingers brushed his metal brow in embarrassment.

"Edward? Alphonse?" Mustang jerked free of Hughes, staggering toward them with grim determination. "What the hell are you doing out here so late? I told you it was dangerous." The alchemist stabbed a wavering finger in Ed's general direction. "Are you stupid or just trying to piss me off?"

Ed's fists balled. This guy was such an asshole. As many times as he wanted to punch Mustang in his smug face, this moment was the worst. The older alchemist hadn't ever yelled at him like he just did since that very first day when Mustang realized, in horror, what Ed and Al had done. "We were working in the museum. Look, you shit, we can take care of ourselves. We don't need you."

"You have no idea what's out here, none." Roy made a slashing movement, nearly knocking himself over.

Maes steadied him, his expression grim. "Ed, Al, he's right."

"Hughes, you know we can handle ourselves."

Letting Mustang to sway without support, Hughes reached out and clamped a hand on Ed's shoulder. "We know you're both very capable boys."

"Wouldn't gotten you into this if I didn't," Mustang slurred, leaning on a mail box to help keep himself upright.

"Exactly." Hughes wagged a finger. "That said, you shouldn't be out at night. I know it's not tremendously late yet but with that fire last night, we ended up with two more dead kids."

Next to Ed, Al's armor jarred plate against plate. Ed tried to hold in his own shock. "That won't be us."

"Will be if you don't fuckin' lissen to us," Mustang clutched the mail box as if he thought gravity would suddenly fail him and he might float off. "You're just a kid with delusions of adulthood. You need to lissen to your elders."

"Roy," Maes said sharply.

Ed took a deep breath in but was too mad to actually form words. It was all he could do not to just transmute the mailbox into a cage for Mustang and poke him with a sharp stick. Instead, his brother interrupted softly. "Sir, they're doing more than just killing the kids, aren't they?"

"Yes, Al, they are," Hughes replied.

"Like you have no idea." Mustang roused himself off the mail box. "That's why you have to go. I'll talk to Bishop. No rush. That crap isn't going anywhere but you are, Fullmetal. You don't get to defy my orders."

"Don't breathe on me." Ed fanned a hand in front of his face. "You stink."

"Ed, Roy, enough. Not tonight," Hughes took hold of Mustang's arm. "Boys, why don't you run home? Roy's not having a good night. I need to get him home, too."

"I wanna walk," Roy protested.

"We've been all over the damn town. You're walking home," Hughes replied, shaking Roy's arm.

Ed's eyes widened at the snappish tone. He had never heard Hughes like that. Ed decided tonight definitely wasn't the time to push either man. Something was going on that didn't make any sense. "We'll go home."

"Thank you."

Ed waited until the two officers were out of sight before rapping his knuckles on his brother's chestplate to get his attention. "Something weird is happening, Al."

"I know, brother. Those poor kids."

"No, I meant with Mustang and Hughes. I know Mustang likes to drink but I haven't ever seen him drunk like that before."

"To be fair, Ed, we're kids and we don't hang out in bars," Al protested, his helmet swiveling back the way they had just come. "But I doubt he'd want us to see him like that. He's in a terrible state."

Ed thought about that for a moment and realized his brother was right. Mustang _would_ be humiliated to be seen so out of control. He rubbed his chin. "Yeah, but…well, there's something more going on that they're not telling us. Mustang seems afraid. I've never seen him show that emotion, not like he is now."

Al nodded. "I noticed. It makes me want to get back to the officer's quarters faster. He and Mr. Hughes don't scare easy but something is bothering them now. Maybe we ought to listen to them, Brother."

"Yeah," Ed said without conviction. It was what Al needed to hear. Ed had no real intentions of giving up quite so easily but the twelve year old had to confess, the odd encounter had him on edge.

* * *

Lauren had considered following Mustang but when he came out of the bar there were simply too many people with him. She didn't like her chances of getting caught so she had left immediately. There were people she could use to find out where he was staying in Central. It would be to her benefit to head home and work harder on her plans to move the operation out of Central. It wasn't that Mustang was known to investigate crimes but that woman who took him in as a child did know far too much about too many things and Mustang always had an overgrown sense of what was fair. He wouldn't have much tolerance for her and Nick.

As she headed back to the home she shared with her idiot brother, Lauren purposely went by the street vendors that lined the streets near the bars ringing around industrial area of town. Bars in Central could be found in clusters, the rough ones here in the industrial area, taverns outside of the military base and the more upscale pubs in the heart of the city for the more upstanding citizens.

She chose this street because it wasn't far from the Ishbalan slums and Downard and Miller, the thugs they used to procure the kids, worked these streets. They had a plum spot close to some city benches. Once it got dark, they stuck around to serve those stumbling out of the bars – at least that's what it said on their operator's license. In the dark, the Ishbalan children would creep out like rats, looking for food. It was easy to dose their food with some chloral hydrate and let them sit on the benches. Downard and Miller used so much of the stuff, it didn't take that long for the kids to be woozy enough to cart away.

Lauren didn't approach the vendors. Downard nodded at her, a brief indicator that they had gotten another kid. She hailed a cab, plentiful around any place that had a collection of drinking holes. Once home, she hunted down her brother. Nick was engrossed with tallying the nightly take from their various ventures. Glancing up at her, he scowled.

"I can't believe you want to leave," he whined.

"Another fire last night," she replied. "They killed two more kids. We don't get to make repeat money from these kids if they keep murdering them." Lauren kicked off her shoes, letting her toes breathe. "Mustang was with Christmas tonight. That can't possibly mean anything good. We'll do just as well anywhere else. We already have more money than we can spend."

"There's never enough," Nick replied, shortsighted as ever.

"Stay if you want. I'm moving my portion out," Lauren's tone left no room for argument. She knew Nick would argue anyway but in the end, she would win out, just like always.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Ed, I think you're just reading to keep from helping me and not because you're learning anything." Al wished he could glare at his brother but he thought he was getting his point across. Not that Ed cared.

"I have to see if there is anything we need in these books." Ed settled back, head on the pillow he had carted into the museum's storage area. While Al was up to his loin cloth in boxes, Ed was stretched out on the floor on top the blanket he had brought with the pillow, reading and occasionally snacking from a paper bag full of nuts roasted with cinnamon that he had smuggled in from the outside.

"You're so full of sh…" Al stopped, heading someone coming down the corridor.

"They seem like good boys," Bishop was saying, his cane clicking along. "I do hope they're making progress. I haven't had the time to come check on them. I'm sure they'll appreciate a helping hand."

"I wouldn't bet on it."

"Damn! Is that Mustang?" Ed popped up. "What is he doing here?"

"Be nice, brother." Al shook some rubber tubing at Ed. "The colonel can't possibly feel well after being so drunk last night. The last thing anyone needs is your…" Al thought better of pointing out his brother's loud mouth but it was too little too late.

Ed's head swiveled around, a smile that had been classified more than once as demonic spreading over his face. "My what?"

"You know what. We're in a museum. Quiet is a rule," Al said, thinking maybe it just was one at that. Ed huffed at him but made an attempt to look busy with the boxes he had been ignoring as Bishop led mustang in. As Al expected, Mustang looked sallow and lost inside his uniform. Bloodshot eyes were half shuttered but Al doubted they missed a thing. Al wondered if he smelled as bad as he looked. He remembered the mornings after one of Granny's parties. She always sent them and Winry for a sleep over during the parties but the next day…well, how many stomach flus could one old woman have?

"You have a visitor, boys," Mr. Bishop said cheerily. "Colonel Mustang said he would like to see your progress and lend a hand."

"We're still slowly unpacking," Ed said blandly, surprising Al by not raising a stink about Mustang's presence.

"This is a big job," Al added.

"No rush, boys, no rush. Around here, our best work is done at a nice slow even pace," Bishop said. Al wondered if the man could move at any other. "I'll leave you to show him around." The old man squinted at the opened boxes. "Yes, you do have a ways to go before we can tell what we might want to put out in the exhibit."

"We're trying to see what's all here first then find you the best stuff," Al replied brightly.

"Excellent. It looks like you have things in hand. I'll leave you to orientate the colonel to your system."

Bishop clip-clopped his way back out of the storage bin. Al waited until he heard the elevator doors before saying, "Seriously Ed, that's going to be you at that age."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Roy chuckled then clutched his forehead. "Oh, don't make me laugh. Either my head will explode or I'll throw up."

"What the hell do you even want?" Ed snarled. "Go away before you puke on my boots."

Roy's hand dropped away from his forehead as he drew himself up to his full height. He managed to look honestly contrite. "I owe you boys an apology."

Ed snorted. "Yeah, right. What do you _really_ want?"

"Brother," Al sighed.

Roy simply cocked up an eyebrow before peering into the nearest box. He selected a book. "To apologize for my behavior last night. I was not myself."

"Sure you were. Just augmented by a barrel of whiskey," Ed said but he didn't see Roy wince. Al did. "We don't need you here getting in our way."

"You don't get a choice. I _am_ your commanding officer," Roy reminded him. "And General Gran has decided that while I'm here on temporary duty, Hughes is my commander and he commanded me to come here with you boys."

"I'm gonna kill Hughes."

"Why, sir?" Al ignored his brother's temper.

Roy stretched out on the blanket, nestling his head on Ed's pillow, blithely ignoring the young boy's bleat of dismay. "To quote Hughes and Hawkeye, you're my babysitter, Alphonse."

"Me, sir?"

"Yes, they said you're the only adult in this group." Roy struggled past his hangover to smirk at Ed who turned a dangerous shade of purple. Al could hear his brother's servos whining as Ed clenched his fists.

Al's chest plate puffed up at the praise then realized what it really meant. His spiked shoulders sagged. "Just what I needed, two of them," he muttered not quite under his breath. Ed punched Al with his metal fist and the resulting clang made Mustang groan.

"Have you read this book yet?" Roy waved the one he had pulled out of the box.

"No."

"I'll start here." He laid back down, shifting around before sitting up again. Mustang stripped off his uniform jacket. "Uncomfortable thing." He settled back with the book but within a minute the book was resting on his face, his breathing becoming soft and even.

"Look at him. He's going to drool on my pillow, Al."

"Ask the hotel for a new one." Al shuffled over to Mustang as quietly as he could. "He's just like you." He pointed to where Mustang's shirt had hiked up. "Always sleeping with your bellies out." He picked up the discarded jacket and covered the older alchemist up.

"You're going to make someone a good wife someday, Al," Ed sneered. Al sauntered over casually then flicked his brother's ear hard, surprised Ed's yelp of pain didn't do more than make the colonel mumble in his sleep.

The brothers unpacked a box of old chemical supplies that Al thought should be properly dumped out and the old bottles cleaned if Mr. Bishop wanted them for the exhibit. Al rather liked their old shapes, more squat and thick than bottles nowadays. Their dark blue and brown glass were inviting to an alchemist like him.

"You know why Colonel Jackass is really here, don't you, Al," Ed said after several minutes. "He's here to be sure we leave here at a decent hour and make sure we go right home like little kids."

"And the embarrassing story about needing a babysitter accomplished what for him exactly in your theory?"

Ed shrugged. "Hughes probably _did_ say that and the shit knew Hughes would tell us."

"I said it because it's true," Roy muttered behind them. He shifted the book off his face, squirming onto his side. "And Alphonse, your brother is also right. I am here to keep an eye on you two."

"We're not kids." Ed's growl reminded Al of the little fiest dog that ran around Mr. Fitch's store back home.

"And I'm not overly familiar with a little thing called fire," Roy grunted. "We know you can take care of yourselves. Hell, you're downright dangerous to yourselves and others but the truth is, we have no idea how this person is getting hold of so many kids your age. You can't protect yourself against the unknown." 

Al nodded and even Ed slumped a bit at that. "We know, sir."

"You are stubborn and so convinced you're right about everything, Edward. I don't need to point out the problem with that, now do I?" Roy's eyes narrowed, flicking to Alphonse.

Ed bristled. "You're such an ass."

"And trust me when I say I know what I'm talking about, Edward." Roy sighed. "You should let Hughes and me help you from time to time. That's what we're trying to do here."

"We will," Al said quickly before Ed could start cussing again. "Sorry we woke you up."

"Your brother is so loud for a boy so little."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO LITTLE HE NEEDS A MEGAPHONE TO BE HEARD!"

"Edward, no one said anything like that." Al sighed. "Be quiet before you make Mr. Bishop think he's made the wrong choice in having us do this. Mr. Mustang, maybe you should go back to sleep." Al tried to be mild but the two of them were insufferable. Still, it was somehow _good_ to see them back to their usual selves. It had been strange seeing the colonel alternatingly overly concerned and manic.

"Is that your way of telling me to stop winding him up, Alphonse?" Mustang smiled, shifting again on the hard floor.

Al kept his 'what do you think' to himself. "Sir, we know you're trying to keep us safe but shouldn't you tell us everything that's going on so we understand better?"

Mustang shot him a curious look. "What is it you think we're not telling you, Alphonse?"

"Exactly what's happening. I mean…" Al's metal plates rattled. "This man is hurting them, you know."

"Jus say it, Al," Ed said, yanking things out of the box with more force than necessary. "Hughes said there was sex." The redness of Ed's face told Al his brother was regretting saying it as much as Al did for bringing it up in the first place. "And you seem really upset about everything," Ed added.

Mustang flopped over onto his back and pulled his jacket over his face. "You know everything. The kids were taken, raped, killed and set on fire and I don't want to see it happen to you. And yes, Edward, things like that actually upset me."

Ed mumbled something that was probably supposed to be an apology or 'no kidding' but the words never really took form.

"That's why I want you two to leave. I'll square it with Bishop. You can come back in a month or two once Hughes solves this case," Roy said, peering back out from under the jacket. "You can follow other leads."

"Tell me how we pass this up, Mustang?" Ed demanded. "What we need might be in these boxes."

From the look on Mustang's face, Al suddenly had his doubts. Had the older alchemist sent them here, grasping at straws himself? "Please, sir, think about it. We aren't your average kids."

Roy snorted. "No, you're not. For once, Alphonse, I'm not entirely sad that you're in that body. At least they can't hurt you." He covered his face again. "I'll think about it."

Ed opened his mouth to argue but Al held up a hand. Glaring, Ed lost himself in sorting the stuff in the box and Al let the conversation die, almost regretting he had pushed as far as he had. But now they really knew. Raped. Murdered. Burned. He couldn't imagine anything more awful.

Soon, the soft sounds of sleep slipped out from under the jacket over Mustang's head. Al wondered if the alchemist was really sleeping off his hang over or if he was pretending and listening in. He decided it was probably the former. "Ed, maybe we should go."

"We'll just be more careful, Al. Promise." Ed glanced over at his brother. "Don't give Mustang any ammunition."

Al stifled a sigh, going back to work.

* * *

Maes felt slightly bad about inflicting Roy on Alphonse, not to mention inflicting Ed on poor hung over Roy, but neither he nor Riza felt Roy should be alone. The alchemist was in no shape to work today and Maes knew his friend would feel guilty about that once he was more himself. As it was, he hadn't been able to convince Roy to go back to Christmas's and the apartment there and he wasn't going to leave Roy alone in his temporary quarters. Roy hadn't wanted to sleep on Maes's couch the night before but he had passed out before even getting that far. Maes had to carry Roy in. Thank goodness Gracia was an understanding woman. He certainly owed her. Maybe he'd take Elicia for a stroll and let Gracia nap for a few hours.

Maes had met back up with Knox to find out one of the victims from last night's fire had blue eyes, the other red. It served to further convince Maes that the killer was culling his victims from the poorer segments of society. The blue-eyed girl was a bit of an anomaly but the Ishbalans weren't the only poor in Central. So far, in spite of pleas in the paper, no parents had come forth to try and find out if the victims were their missing kids, at least no parent that the child could probably belong to. A few frantic parents had appeared but outside of the lone blue-eyed girl, they couldn't possibly be the parents. He had no idea this many children went missing in the city. It terrified him and all he really wanted to do was go home and hug Elicia.

Instead, Maes was wandering around trying to pull the pieces of the puzzle together in his head. He needed to stop and see the Madam and find out if Shanti had checked in but at this point Maes wasn't hopeful she could help either. He had taken the time to really read the information Kavita had passed on at Chris' insistence. A pedophile ring made sense. Maes wondered vaguely what happened to Roy's step-father's children. How would kids raised like that turn out? He would have to look into their whereabouts to satisfy his own curiosity. He'd get Breda and Armstrong on that tomorrow.

Tonight, he needed to go wrangle Roy and the Elrics. He'd rather herd feral cats. They'd be easier. Roy was surely still feeling the effects of his hangover and his mood was plain rotten. Maes knew he should feel guilty about inflicting Roy on the brothers but hoped Roy would be able to convince them to leave. Roy was right; they shouldn't be here.

Once he got to the museum, Maes introduced himself to Mr. Bishop and convinced him that no guide would be needed to find Roy and the brothers. He figured they'd be so loud in the basement that the deaf could find them. By the time he tracked them down, they were arguing with Roy about it being time to leave. Roy was sitting on a pile of books, still gray-faced and obviously in need of being tucked into bed. Sadly, there was too much to do before that could happen.

"Ready to go boys?" Maes poked his head into the room.

"We're not done," Ed said with all the tenacity of a young mule.

"Edward, we've had this conversation. You're going if I have to drag you out by your braid, kicking and screaming." Roy actually looked delighted at the prospect.

Ed's fists balled up. "I'd like to see you try."

"It's not been a conversation. You two have been shouting," Al said, pushing his brother toward the door.

Maes tossed a casual arm around Ed's shoulders, using that leverage to directed him out of the room. "I know your stomach, Ed. It's probably been deafening Roy for the last hour. Let's all go get something to eat then we'll get you boys back to your quarters."

"Hughes," Ed grumbled but he walked.

Roy shot Maes a grateful look. Maes knew his friend still wasn't quite himself, since he was relatively quiet. Still, there was certain lightness in Roy's dark eyes, a sign that Ed and Al had the desired effect. Maes knew it would only be a matter of time before the boys would poke Roy into taunting them. He couldn't resist it.

"We can get our own food," Ed pouted. "You don't have to walk us all over town."

"We're not going far," Maes said, starting them all down the path that led to Sparky's. There might be more the madam could tell them and the bar had good food, cheap, too. He wasn't sure if Ed even cared about things like that given his alchemist stipend. "And you're coming to my house tomorrow at five for dinner. No arguments."

"But that's so early. We'll have to really cut our work short," Ed protested.

"That was an argument," Maes pointed out. "And Roy is paying for the catering."

Ed was lousy at hiding his emotions. No sane person would trust the smile that blossomed on his face. "I'll bring my appetite."

Roy groaned, dropping back a bit. Maes knew he could have called for a cab, though it would be a tight fit, but Roy had ran him all over town last night. It was his turn to return the favor. By the time they got to Sparky's, the alchemist was sweating and his color had worsened. Maes knew he shouldn't blame Roy for getting so drunk. He understood the trauma Roy had suffered. He was annoyed that Roy had ignored the warnings and caused his own pain. That's what Roy needed reminded of. The expression on Roy's exotic face promised Maes this wasn't over. He probably wasn't going to be warming Roy's bed any time soon.

"You brought us to a bar?" Al asked somewhat incredulously. "Should the Colonel have anything more?"

"I'm hoping the mere smell will be a reminder of his folly," Maes replied, surprised at Al's astute observation.

Ed led the way inside. "Hey, is that Hawkeye over there?"

"Yes, let's go join her," Maes said, not really expecting Riza to be here but that was fortuitous. Roy didn't say a word; he simply slinked over to her table. "Room for more, Hawkeye?" Maes asked.

She waved a hand across the table. "Have a seat. Hello, Edward, Alphonse. How are you?"

"We'd be better if Colonel Shit would quit harassing us about leaving town until Hughes is done with his investigation," Edward said, flopping down.

Riza's big brown eyes pinned Ed. "Edward, you'll find that obeying orders is actually part and parcel of being in the military. If you annoy him long enough, he might even find some place truly tedious to send you." While she said it with a smile, there was nothing joking in her tone. Ed grimaced, groaning.

"I have a list of chores and places just for you, Edward. Alphonse, you'd be free to go home. I'd hate for you to suffer because of your brother's irritating nature," Roy said with a smug grin.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Al mumbled and Ed glared.

"You said I could stay for now," Ed reminded Roy as he reached for the menus still on the table. "I'm staying."

"For now," Roy agreed.

A waitress Maes didn't know approached the table, giving Alphonse a wary eye. If the poor kid noticed, he had no way of showing it without being as vocal and rude as his brother. Maes figured her to be an employee and not one of Christmas' inner circle. "Can I get you anything or do you need a minute?"

"We need time with the menus but drinks would be nice." Maes turned to Ed. "Ed?"

"Water's fine," he replied in a tone of someone hoping for a soda fountain but knowing he wasn't in luck.

"I'll have a beer," Maes said.

"Mmm, after the day I've had, that would really do the trick. I'll have a beer, too." Riza's smile had just a tiny bit of smirk hiding in it and she made sure Roy saw.

Roy's shoulders slumped and he said in a soft voice, "I'll have juice."

"What kind, sir?"

"Does it matter? Surprise me." Roy shot both Riza and Maes a hostile look that Ed caught.

"What's up?" the boy asked as the waitress headed off with their orders, not even waiting to see if the 'person' inside the armor wanted anything. Ed's golden eyes studied Roy who glared back. "You're in trouble, aren't you?"

Maes really needed to sit Ed down and talk to him about letting his emotions be so blatant and about his obvious glee in provoking Roy, not that he thought he'd get far on either personality point. Ed, like Roy, was a rude brat. "Yes, he is."

"The colonel has been…bad," Riza added.

Ed snorted. "He's always bad. I don't know why you haven't just shot him."

"Brother," Al chided.

"Just look at the menu and shut up," Roy grumbled, obviously not quite up to a witty comeback.

Ed picked up the menu, chuckling. Maes didn't need a menu. He ate here enough on his visits to know Sparky's served a great fried chicken and a mashed sweet potato side dish. While Ed was perusing the menu, apparently unable to make a decision, Janina headed over with their drink orders. She smirked at Roy, setting grape juice in front of him.

"I figured this was close to wine," she said and the look he shot his sister should have had him up on charges of murder. "Here you go." Janina put down the beers and Ed's water. She turned her gaze to Al. "Did you want something?"

He shook his head. "I'm good, thanks."

"Tell me if you need another juice, Roy boy," she snickered, heading back to the bar.

"Is there a girl anywhere who you don't flirt with? Do they have your name written down somewhere? If Roy comes in, be all sweet to him?" Ed wrinkled his nose at Mustang.

"Jealous?"

"Of a goofy looking guy like you? Hardly."

"Listen you little fu-"

Riza cut off the explicative, clamping her hand over Roy's mouth.

"WHO ARE Y-"

Al used a similar method to silence his brother.

"Let's just order peacefully before we're banned from the bar," Maes suggested.

When the waitress returned, Riza placed the same order as Maes. Ed ordered three different sandwiches, the onion loaf and soup. Roy's order for a bowl of chicken and dumplings seemed to upset her though. "Is that all, sir?"

"Have them put it in a big bowl. I'll pay extra," he replied wearily.

"A bowl of soup?" Maes eyed his friend once the waitress was gone.

"I'm not hungry."

"Still that hung over?" Riza asked and he grunted at her.

"At least I didn't order enough food for an army like Edward."

"Growing boys have to eat," she reminded him and Ed beamed at that.

Maes got the brothers talking about what they were finding in the museum. Maybe what he needed was to let go of the case for a little while and let his mind relax. Roy took relaxing to the next level, sliding down in his chair, all but asleep and he stayed that way until dinner came. Roy managed to rouse himself enough to prop himself up on one elbow and slowly spoon thick dumplings into his mouth.

"Sir, really? Elbows off the table," Riza scolded.

"Leave him, Hawkeye. He's going to fall asleep in his soup." Ed grinned. "I want to see how long it takes him to drown."

"Just concentrate on eating your food without inhaling the silverware," Roy replied without opening his eyes.

Ed opened his mouth but at look from Riza made him rethink it. He took a healthy bite of sandwich instead. By the time they were nearly through dinner, Maes spotted the madam in the doorway. She nodded at him.

"I need to go call Gracia." Maes pushed back from the table.

"Why? It's not like you aren't going to be home soon?" Ed asked.

"Brother, honestly. You are so unromantic."

"Exactly, Alphonse. Do make sure Roy doesn't fall into his soup while I'm gone."

Maes didn't have to look back to know Roy was making an obscene gesture at him. He left Riza to tend to Roy, who didn't seem to be much of a problem unless he garnered a second wind. Maes followed Christmas back to her office and took a seat in front of her desk.

She lit up before speaking. "Roy looks like hell."

"He was acting a little more like himself today," Maes replied. "I should probably send him back east but I doubt he'd go now, no matter how much this is hurting him."

"If he would obey orders, he'd hurt less."

"He never could be reasonable," he said and Christmas laughed. "Did you learn anything?"

Christmas took a long drag. "Shanti said she thought she found one family who lost a child but they don't trust her any more than they do us." She let the smoke trickle out between her lips. "It's been an unsettling realization for her."

"I have no doubt." Ever since the war, his former 'sister' had become so bitter and so proud of her heritage. Maes was sure it had to feel like a slap to the face to be mistrusted by other Ishbalans.

"Shanti wants you to meet her tomorrow by the old clock tower. It's just outside of the tent city. That family really does want to know if you found their child but they don't want to risk coming into the city. Do you feel safe meeting her there? That close to the tenement, no telling what could happen." Christmas leveled a hard stare at him.

Maes shrugged. "It needs to be done. I can take care of myself."

"I know that you can. Be smart." She held up a hand. "And I know you're plenty that. It's Roy I usually worry about. For someone so smart, he can be incredibly dumb from time to time."

"Right now Edward is taking bets on how long it will take Roy to drown in his soup. I think it's safe to say, Roy is all right for tonight. I'll tell him about this in the morning. I want him to sleep. I'll try to convince him to stay here when Riza can stay with him. Or at the very least, I'll see him home."

"Do your best. It's probably not in my interest that those young boys get a good look at me from what you and Roy have said."

"Ed is a smart one. He might figure out more than you're comfortable with." Maes glanced back at the door. "I better get back out there. Anything else, Madam?"

She shook hear head. "I'll let you know when I learn anything else."

"Thanks."

Maes headed back to the table where he'd have to wrangle two brats into submission. At least, when he got home, he'd have two slices of paradise waiting for him.

* * *

Beckert nibbled the end of his thumb.

Mudica, the school librarian, glanced over at him. "Should you be doing that? You touch sick kids all the time."

Beckert yanked his hand down. "Didn't you hear me? The Hograths are leaving town. How are we going to find our dolls?"

"Maybe we went too far and that's why they're leaving," Mudica suggested, his tone shaky. He tugged at a lock of thinning hair.

Beckert glared. "What was better for you, Phil? Cuddling your doll or making it shut its eyes for good?" For a moment, the nurse thought his partner in crime would deny that killing the kids was as arousing, if not more so, than the actual sex with them.

Mudica flung his hands up. "Before we started with making them sleep, the Hograths had no problems."

Beckert had to concede that point. "We may have to find others like the Hograths or do some of our own collecting. We do work in a school."

Mudica sat upright as if he'd been goosed. "You can't take kids from there. Breckenridge is an academy. The richest people in Central send their kids there. It's not like taking some desert rat no one is going to miss."

"Aren't you tired of red eyes and that disgusting tanned skin?" Beckert hugged.

"It suits me just fine. I was nervous enough last night with that blue-eyed doll they got from some slum dweller," Mudica fretted.

Beckert spread his hands in concession. Mudica would be no help to him. "You have a point. I'll start looking into other options to find our dolls."

Mudica nodded frantically at that idea. The man was a useless coward. It might be time to arrange an accident for the man. It wasn't like they had the some taste in dolls anyhow. At least Mudica was good with capturing their dolls on film and knew someone who would let them borrow a dark room. Still, it might be time to go solo.

* * *

"You didn't have to walk with us," Ed said. "We would have gone home like good little boys."

"It's not that far from the restaurant," Maes shrugged, waving the brothers up the stairs to their second floor room.

"You only did it because Colonel Shit told you to."

"Actually, I would have seen you two home even if Roy hadn't suggested it." Maes followed them up.

"Sir, the colonel really seems upset. He was so…not himself last night," Alphonse said as Ed unlocked the door.

"Drunk, Al, you can say it. He was drunk off his ass," Ed slammed his way into the hotel room.

Maes shoved his glasses up. "Edward, do you ever so anything quietly?"

Ed scowled at him. "The asshole was drunk."

"Yes, he was, very much so," Maes said, wondering if Ed's mother ever tried washing the boy's mouth out with soap. "He regrets you saw him like that."

"I don't blame him," Al sat on the floor, against the wall. "Brother will never let him forget it."

Ed snorted at him then flopped over backwards over the arm of the suite's couch. "Why should I? He was a complete idiot. I don't see why he thinks we should go. We can handle ourselves." He rapped a hand against the metal of his shoulder. "Who'd want this anyhow?"

"You'd be surprised," Maes said darkly, wishing he could make the kids understand. They were at the age where they believed adults did everything just to be sure the kids had no fun. Adults knew nothing and it would take a few years before the Elrics grew out of that stage, no matter how smart and mature they were.

"Sir, something bad happened to the colonel, didn't it?" Al's helmet canted over at Maes. "He was so…afraid last night."

"He was drunk and bossy," Ed protested. "I didn't see scared."

"That's because you're always in competition with him, brother," Al said and Ed whipped around to stare at him. "What? You are."

"Am not, whatever," Ed muttered.

Maes ignored it, trying to decide what if anything he could tell the brothers. Alphonse was altogether too perceptive. Roy would not be happy but it might actually help level the playing field. Ed hated that Roy knew their secret, hated the power it potentially gave Roy over the brothers. That was part of the antagonism between them, Maes didn't doubt.

He sat on the chair opposite the couch, catching Ed's attention. "Al, you sound worried and you, Ed, well, I guess you're just your usual rude self, but I know under that you're wondering what's gotten Roy so upset."

"Eh," Ed huffed, shrugging the shoulder he wasn't lying on.

"Roy is an orphan, like you boys," Maes said then held up a hand when Ed's mouth opened, his cheeks reddening, "Yes, I know your father is probably alive somewhere but he hasn't been a part of your life in a long time. Anyhow, I'm not entirely sure Roy ever knew his father. I don't even know if he passed away when Roy was very young or if he just left the family, leaving Roy and his sister."

"There're _more_ of them?" Ed's eyes rounded into saucers.

Maes tried not to laugh. "His sister is downright scary. I've met her. She's a year or two older and don't tell him I told you about her. Don't tell Roy I told you any of this."

"We won't, sir." Al held up a hand in promise.

Maes noticed Ed shot his brother a look and didn't promise but he decided to trust the boy. "Roy's mother married another man, Stewart Hograth. Maybe he seemed charming or maybe she was desperate to find someone to help her support two kids. Again, Roy was so young at the time I doubt he knew."

"He was a bad guy?" Ed asked.

"He hurt kids," Al added.

"Yeah, he hurt kids. Roy and his sister and later he went to jail for doing what the guy I'm chasing now is doing, selling, molesting and hurting children."

"That's horrible," Al whispered.

"Very. Their mom found out and she tried to take the kids and run away but the man caught her and beat her to death in front of Roy and his sister. The last thing she did was make the kids go. They ran off and he didn't catch them. They lived on the streets for awhile before finding a foster mother who took them in."

"We were lucky." Ed's chin dropped toward his chest. "Granny Pinako took us in."

"And Teacher, we were very lucky," Al said and Maes hoped they couldn't see how stunned he was at their optimism. He wouldn't have called their young lives lucky. "And we won't tell anyone about this, sir, no one."

"Yeah, this isn't right," Ed said, sitting up.

"No, it is not and I trust you boys. That's why I told you," Maes assured them. "So if you think Roy's been too hard on you, it's because he's trying to protect you. There was no one there to protect him and he's just looking out for you two. Roy likes you."

Ed snorted. "Right."

"He does," Maes protested. "Think about it, Ed. How many commanding officers would give you so much free rein? Roy doesn't impede your quest at all. He tries to help you. And could you imagine what would happen if I spoke to General Gran the way you speak to Roy?"

"You'd be in jail," Al offered.

"Exactly."

"Okay, I know he helps us." Ed held up his hands. "A lot. It's just that he's so damn smug and arrogant I want to slap him."

Maes couldn't hold back the bubble of laughter. "Get in line and it's a long one. There are plenty of openings behind me and Hawkeye."

"Ugh, poor Lieutenant Hawkeye, stuck with him every day. I don't know how she does it."

Al's helmet seemed to regard Ed intently. Maes just shook his head. One brother might actually get why Riza put up with Roy. "Don't worry about Hawkeye. She has her ways of coping."

"How are you friends with someone that smug and arrogant?" Ed demanded.

"Same way I'm friends with you," Maes replied, making Al giggled. Ed glowered. "Of course Roy is arrogant. When you are as smart as he is, as smart as you two boys, it's part of the deal, I think. Al has a more sedate personality but I bet he has his moments, too."

"Oh yeah," Ed bobbed his head and Al squawked out a protest.

"Try not to be too hard on Roy, Edward. He's doing his job and he usually does it well if you let him." Maes got up. "He knows what he's talking about."

"So he thinks," Ed replied, not ready to give up the point.

"I'd better get home," Maes said, knowing when it was time to give up. "Good night boys."

They chorused their goodbyes and Maes went to the front desk of the visiting officers' quarters to arrange for transportation. He didn't relish the long walk home. He just hoped the brothers finally understood exactly what was at stake here.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"I don't like the idea of you going alone." Roy leaned on the files on his borrowed desk in the investigations department, his elbows almost in the pastry he bought for breakfast.

"I have no choice. Shanti found a family with a missing child," Maes replied.

"So you've said," Roy grumbled, noting Breda was only half-listening, chowing down on his donut and eyeing a piece of paper.

"It's not like you or Armstrong can go to the tent city. You're both very memorable. I'm average looking and I'm not an alchemist. Chances of anyone remembering me are slim. Besides, I'm not going in uniform. I'm undercover." Maes spread his arms, showing off his brilliant purple shirt patterned with red flowers and matching purple pants.

"That's not uncover. That's easy to identify clothing for when your body turns up stuffed in a trash bin," Roy sulked and Maes scowled at him. Roy didn't care. Nothing would make him like this lame plan.

"I could go with him," Breda said, setting aside the piece of paper. "I'm not accomplishing anything here. Armstrong and their team have plenty enough to handle things without me."

"I'm all right with that," Maes said. 'But we should leave soon. If we're late, they'll probably rabbit."

Breda followed Maes out. Roy couldn't restrain himself. Ignoring Riza's warning grunt to get to work, he had to see what Breda had been staring at so intently. Roy picked up the paper. A swing dance tomorrow night? He wasn't expecting that.

"Busy, Mustang?"

Roy nearly whipped around right into Gran. How the hell did a man that big move so silently? "Actually sir, Hughes and Breda just headed out to talk to a possible family member of one of the victims. Hawkeye and I are planning to go speak to the person who owned the house that was burned the other night."

"And that's all the progress that you've made?" Gran's moustache twitched as his lips gnarled up. 

"Given what's left of the victims and what ethnic group they belonged to, we have little to go on and no help from the victims' families," Roy replied.

"I guess you would know about how foreign people think." Gran plucked the club flyer from Roy's fingers. "You planning on going dancing, Mustang?"

Roy's fingers moved against each other unconsciously. He wanted to singe the smug look off his superior's face. "The flyer was on the desk. I was about to throw it out. We don't have time for stuff like that."

"Too bad. I was about to suggest you go," Gran said.

Roy couldn't rein in his surprise. "Really?"

"Yes. I've heard that taking a little time off for fun helps clear the mind." Gran slapped the flyer across Roy's chest. "At least in people of lesser breeding and more prosaic of intellect. Take your team." With that, he walked back out of the room, leaving Roy digging in his pocket for his glove.

"That man is impossible," Riza hissed in his ear.

"I wish I could…" Roy didn't finish the thought. "Let's go find Mr. Beckert. I hope Armstrong doesn't intimidate the man."

"His mere size will do that," Riza replied far too reasonably for Roy's mood.

Roy would like to have done this without Alex Louis for just that reason but neither he nor Riza were investigators. Well, they just wanted to ask Beckert if he had any idea that his old home had been involved in a fire. The man should have nothing to be afraid of.

The sergeant at the garage seemed so distressed that someone not from Investigations wanted to drive the vehicle allotted to the division that in the end Armstrong drove. Roy watched, fascinated, as the man managed to cram himself behind the wheel. He would have bet it was impossible for the large man to fit into such a small space. Riza took the spot behind Armstrong in the back seat. Roy sat next to her, too aware of her body next to his. Even in her uniform she was beautiful. He was taking her to that dance. Screw everyone. Gran had given him permission along with his insult. What the hell? The man wouldn't think less of Roy and for his part, Roy didn't give a damn what Gran thought.

The drive felt interminable long. Armstrong was nothing if not a careful driver. Roy was used to Havoc who had a tendency to slew around corners and making the car impossible to breathe in with all the smoke. Roy would sink down in the back side sometimes and pretend he was a kid again, trying to see how long he could avoid being touched by his mother's cigarette smoke. Roy still didn't really like the smell but he suspected that was a side effect of Chris catching him smoking and making him smoke the whole pack. Hypocrite. He'd been sick for two days.

Roy scanned Breckenridge as they approached up a long drive. It was the ivy-covered behemoth that he had been anticipating. He had thought about asking Armstrong if he had gone here but while Armstrong always went on and on about his family, if someone paid attention, they'd notice he never really gave out many details as if maybe slightly embarrassed to have come from such privileged.

A school administrator whisked them along to the nurse's office, chatting amiably about stuff Roy wasn't even listening, too. He was too busy drinking in the ornate crown molding and marble floors for a school, no less. He couldn't even imagine having so much money growing up and in the back of his mind, he realized that if he were to have children now, they could afford to go to a place like this on his state alchemist salary. Even though he was quite wealthy by this time, Roy still lived in small base housing, almost seeing his money as blood money. It was hard for him to spend it.

"I'll leave you to it. Are you perfectly sure that there isn't something I need to worry about here?" the administrator fretted.

"Not at all. Mr. Beckert's parent's home was destroyed in an arson fire," Armstrong replied. "We just need to talk to him."

Seemingly satisfied with that, the administrator scurried off. Roy pressed ahead of Armstrong since he was the ranking officer. The room was a typical school nurse's office, antiseptic smell and a couple cots with stiff white bedding. Beckert swiveled around in his chair, turning from his table of tin containers full of tongue depressors, cotton balls and bandages. His pale face lost a few shades upon seeing them. It seemed an extreme reaction to Roy, no matter how imposing Armstrong was.

"Can I help you?" Beckert recovered himself. "What would bring the military here?"

"We have a few questions for you," Roy said, noticing the furtive look in the man's eyes returning. "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang and these are Major Armstrong and Lieutenant Hawkeye."

Beckert pointed to the child-sized seats dotted around the room. "Have a seat." No one moved to sit. Beckert turned his gaze to Armstrong. "Armstrong, I think I remember having a couple Armstrong's here."

Armstrong included his head, his forelock flopping forward. "My family have all attended Breckenridge for generations."

That answered that, Roy thought.

"What sort of questions? I'm not sure what I could have done that would be of interest to the military."

"Your parents owned a home on Spooner Street," Armstrong said and the man jumped.

"They did but they're dead. I had the house for sale for years but no one wanted to move into that part of town," Beckert replied. "I moved out years ago."

"You are aware of what happened there two nights ago, are you not?" Armstrong asked.

Riza nudged Roy's arm, letting him know she thought something was up. Given the sheen of sweat on the man's face, Roy had to agree but what could be so frightening about property rights?

"I know an arsonist burnt down the old place and now I don't even have that left to sell," Beckert sniffed.

"Where were you the night it burned?" Roy asked on a hunch.

Beckert's heel tapped the flooring. "I'm sure I was home and before you ask, I was alone. I'm unmarried. What is the point of all this? I haven't been over to Spooner Street in months, if not longer."

"Someone died in the fire," Armstrong said.

"I'm sorry to hear that. If vagrants were using my parents' house to sleep in, I had no idea. That's truly unfortunate. I'm a nurse." Beckert waved a hand back at his medical supplies as if he thought they could have forgotten it. "I hate seeing anyone hurt, especially children."

"We didn't mention the victim was a child," Roy said.

Beckert's watery blue eyes slotted. "I was speaking in the general."

"I would have thought this job would be…stressful." Riza touched her hair clip, fussing with it for a moment. "Children can be trying."

"Oh, not at all. I love children. I wouldn't have become a school nurse otherwise." Beckert looked up at Armstrong. "You can check with my neighbors. Maybe one of them saw me. I'm not sure what else I can do to help you. I really don't know what happened to my parent's home and I do have work to do."

"I think that answers our questions for now," Armstrong said. "Thank you."

"Any time," Beckert replied and turned back to his work.

Roy waited until they were back in the car before asking, "Did he seem strange to anyone else?"

"Too nervous," Riza muttered.

"Agreed," Armstrong said, easing the car back onto the street with the same slow cautious speed he used to arrive at the academy. "I think he bears watching."

"These men, the ones who rape kids…" Roy gulped then jumped feeling Riza's hand close over his, half hidden in the folds of his uniform. "They like to be where they can see kids every day. A school would be perfect."

"I'll get someone assigned as soon as I can," Armstrong promised.

Roy didn't think soon was good enough but what else could be done? He allowed himself to relax a little, intertwining his fingers with Riza's, not even caring if Armstrong might be able to see in the mirror.

Maes spotted Shanti quickly, even though she clung to the shadows of a building. Breda, who had changed into civvies, hung back a little as Maes made his way over to his former 'sister.' With her were an older Ishbalan woman and a teenaged girl. Three sets of ruby eyes narrowed, spotting Breda.

"You didn't say anything about having someone with you," Shanti said, gesturing to Breda.

"Breda's sharp. I wanted him to hear what they have to say." Maes waved hand at the two Ishbalans. "It'll be a help."

Shanti grimaced then headed into a shabby park. Once, the park had been a place for kids to play and adult to relax. Mostly forgotten now as the city expanded and concentrated its interest elsewhere, the park had become seedy and was a gateway to the Ishbalan encampment on the outside of town. She gestured to a bench with uneven slats and the older woman sat down. Shanti looked back at Maes. "This is Maram and her daughter, Shula. They're missing Maram's only son, Rabi."

"I'm sorry to hear it," Maes said. "I'm Maes and he's Heymans. He's assisting me in trying to find whoever it is who's been victimizing children."

"Why do you care about missing Ishbalan children?" Shula asked.

"Because I can't imagine a worse offense than hurting children," Maes replied, taking a step to the side, bringing him into the shade, just in case the women weren't here alone. "I'm a father and I couldn't imagine the pain of my child going missing." He saw the older woman relax but her daughter didn't.

Maram reached behind her neck, fumbling with the clasp to the locket she wore. "I managed to keep this necklace from the time before the war. During a carnival here in town, my son managed to sneak in. Rabi got his picture taken in one of those booths that print out a strip. I cut one down to fit in here." She offered the locket to Maes. Even as he reached for it, he shared a worried glance with Breda.

"What is it? Something's wrong," Maram said, depositing her treasure in Maes' big hand.

"I didn't tell them everything," Shanti put in.

"The victims are dead, ma'am," Breda said.

"And after they've been killed, their murderer set them on fire," Maes tried to put it as gently as he could but there was no good way of saying those words. Maram swayed and her daughter steadied her. Maes thumbed open the locket and looked any how. The photo had been severed pared down but a bright eyed boy stared up out of the metal. "He's a handsome boy, ma'am but no one could identify our victims' faces."

"Who would kill and burn children?" Maram whispered.

"We already know one of them who'd do that. You know this two are military, Mama," Shula jerked a thumb at the soldiers. "They probably know the man already, just putting on a show."

"Flame," Breda muttered.

"I assure you, we're taking this very seriously. The man you mean didn't do this. He's helping us stop whoever is doing it." Maes didn't bother to defend Roy further. These women wouldn't hear those words. "Is there anything distinguishable about your son? A broken bone? Anything different about his teeth? I'm sorry to be so blunt but I need something that the coroner would be able to find."

"His tooth," Shula said. "My dumb brother knocked his left eyetooth out two years ago. He and his idiot friends were daring each other to do…I don't know what, whatever stupid things boys get up to." She leveled a glare at Maes and Breda as if they would know these stupid things because they were male. "He landed on his face."

"That will help," Maes assured her. "I will do my best to find your son. I'll have Shanti keep in touch with you. I think that will make everyone more comfortable." He handed the locket back Maram.

Her hand closed over his, squeezing gently. "Even if my boy is dead, I have to know. Please find him."

"Once I talk to the coroner, I'll send word, I promise. Even if he's not among the victims we have," Maes said.

"That's good." Maram's voice was that of the lost. She let his hand go, getting back to her feet. "Thank you."

Shanti gestured for the two Ishbalans to follow her. She spared a look for Maes. "When Roy asked me to do this, I didn't believe you two really wanted to help. I was wrong. If anyone can find this man and find Maram's son, it'll be you, Maes. You've always been good at it."

"Thanks."

"Sir, how old are your children?" Maram turned back to look at Maes. "Rabi is only eleven."

"My daughter is a newborn."

The older woman's expression softened. "Such a precious age. And here you are, having to face head on all the ugliness that can happen to a child."

"It gives me reason to carry on," Maes assured her. "I don't want anything like this happening to my little girl."

"Keep her safe," Maram replied. "I'll be waiting to hear from you."

"I'll have something for you by tonight, I promise. Shanti, you know where to get that information," Maes said.

Shanti nodded and herded her charges off. Maes glanced over at Breda.

"Knox's?" Breda asked.

"Knox's."

"Are you sure the military doesn't know about you?" Beckert hissed into the phone. He could hear the kids in the hall, going to their classes. It was dangerous to call from here but he had no choice. The military had frightened him and when he told Mudica, the librarian all but panicked. The man was currently stretched out on one of the student cots. "They were here."

"You set fire to your own property. Of course they would find you," Lauren Hograth said over the phone. "I don't care if you were trying to get insurance money or whatever. It was foolish. We've concluded our business. Don't call again."

Beckert slammed the phone down. He knew Hograth was right. Using his mother's place had been stupid. He was going to get caught. Still, he couldn't help himself. Defiling that old bitch's precious home had been amazingly satisfying. Beckert knew Hograth had the right idea; it was time to leave town. He couldn't just run though. He needed a job. To hell with it, he was a nurse. Finding work would be easy enough. "We should take our greatest desire here and then just leave town," he told Mudica.

"Take a kid from here? I'm not about to do that." Mudica sat up on the bed. "I'm done with this. They didn't come talk to me. You're on your own."

Beckert didn't bother to try and stop the man. Mudica was weak. He had more to fear from that man than he did the Hograths or the military. He allowed his mind to wander to the delicious bully Billy Chapman. If there was ever a boy who deserved Beckert's special attention, it was him and he intended to make the boy his doll before he left.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Riza glanced up from blanketed chicken that the caterers were putting on the plates. The loud sounds of gagging echoed in the house. Next to her, Gracia snickered, trying to cover it with a hand.

"I see our big brave soldiers are being defeated by a poopy diaper again," Gracia said.

"Roy is probably regretting letting Maes talk him into helping." Riza grinned. "It's good for him. Roy says yes too easily."

"Poor thing. I know it's mean to make them do it right before dinner." Gracia shrugged. "But there's no controlling a baby." She glanced out the kitchen window. "Or, apparently, the Elric brothers. They're late."

"Just by a few minutes. Don't worry. Ed's stomach wants filling and the idea that Roy's paying for this is just gravy."

Gracia beckoned for Riza to follow her. Riza thought she wanted to go relieve the men of diaper duty. Instead, Gracia paced in front of the fireplace in the living room. "Riza, are you getting any closer to catching this person? Maes doesn't want to talk about it. I know he thinks he's protecting me but I can see it turning him inside out. I just want to know a little of what's going on. I know Maes is worried about Roy."

Riza played with the back of her earring, debating on what to say. "Roy's background is…tragic."

"Maes has told me some of it."

Riza nodded. "It's been hard on Roy, dealing with this crime. He feels guilty about taking Maes away from you at night. Roy doesn't mean to do that."

Gracia caught Riza's wrist. "It's all right. I do understand."

"Tell Roy that, Gracia. It would probably help him," Riza said and Gracia gave the sniper's wrist a squeeze. "I can't say that we're closing in on this person but I think maybe. I hope so. I don't think Roy should stay much longer but he won't go, not if Maes needs his help and he wouldn't want to look weak in front of Gran. I just wish Ed and Al would get here."

Roy stumbled down the stairs, waving a hand in front of his face. "That was the worse smell ever. How do babies manage that?"

Gracia laughed, going over to pat his shoulder. "That is a mystery for the ages. Did you abandon my poor husband?"

"Had no choice. She pooped all over his hand when he was trying to clean her up. I did the sensible thing and performed a strategic retreat. You might find him upstairs, still teaching Elicia new swears."

Gracia's shoulders slumped. "I'd better go rescue him."

As she headed upstairs, Riza just shook her head at Roy. "Some brave officer you are. You'll make a fine dad some day."

Roy huffed at her.

"Didn't living with the family that you did teach you anything about babies?"

"Yes, that I am unable to hold, feed and change them. I'm not so hot on bathing them either." Roy shrugged. "I have bedtime stories down pat though."

Riza sighed. "I guess that's something."

A knock at the front door interrupted her teasing Roy. He went to answer it. Stepping back he let the brothers into the home. "About time."

"Sorry, Bishop wanted to show us something before we left. That man could lose a race to a snail," Ed huffed. "Did we miss anything?"

"Just a chance to help Maes change a diaper," Roy replied.

"Glad I missed that." Ed shuddered. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Run up and help Maes," Roy suggested.

"Anything but that."

"Brother," Al sounded tired, as if he had said that a hundred times already today.

"Why don't you just have a seat at the dining room table?" Riza suggested. "I'm sure dinner is about to start."

The brothers sat down while Gracia went to check on the status of the caterers. Riza sat on the opposite end of the table, allowing room for the Hugheses to be between Ed and Roy. It would be better that way. Roy sat next to her but his expression, the accompanying body language, said he was miles away. This distance between them, the lack of romantic closeness, was for the brothers' sake. Roy trusted them but what they didn't know they couldn't let slip. A tiny piece of her resented the Elrics had been asked to dinner and Riza knew that unfair of her.

Maes came back downstairs, slightly green-faced. He took his seat. "Elicia's down for a nap…hopefully the whole night. Poor Gracia is getting so worn out. Where did she go?"

"Right here," Gracia said, coming back in followed by the caterers. "Soup's on." She sat next to her husband as the caterers served bowls of steaming, fragrant, creamy soup.

Ed's whole face pinched up. "Is this milk?"

Roy's smug expression made Riza want to slap him. She should have gone over the menu. She should have known that Ed's declaration of eating Roy sens-less would have had consequences. If Roy had built the menu around Ed's dislikes, she really _would_ slap him.

"It's almond soup. Eat it, it's rich and delicate," Roy said in his most polite and irritating manner.

"Is this milk?" Ed reiterated, punctuating each word.

"No," Roy replied. Riza knew it was only a partial lie. It was cream.

While everyone supped heartily at the unusual and delicious soup, Ed just chased it around the bowl with his spoon.

"Riza, Maes, General Gran said we were to take time off and go to that dance club Breda was looking at," Roy announced.

Riza blinked. "What?"

"He said we of inferior intelligence need our time off." Roy spread his hands expansively.

"He really said that?" Gracia gaped.

"He did."

"Must know you," Ed muttered, slapping his spoon in his soup until Maes reached over, stilling his hand.

"Brother, honestly."

"So, if he values me so little, there really is no harm in escaping this horrible case in a few hours of dancing," Roy said. "Riza, you and I can surely find someone to dance with there." The look he shot her was hotter than the soup. "Breda, I think, has someone he would like to ask to the dance. Maes, Gracia, I know you don't have much free time but would you like to join us for even just a little?"

"I don't know," Maes said, pushing his soup bowl aside. "Gracia's worn out and where would Elicia go?"

"My mother would watch her for a couple hours," Gracia said, startling her husband. "You're right. I am worn out. I could use a little time out. I'm not sure I'm up for dancing but just to sit somewhere that isn't this house would be nice."

"All right then, tomorrow night it is. It'll be good for us," Roy said as the caterers came to take away the bowls and to bring out the blanketed chicken, which Riza realized that while oven roasted and smothered in bacon, sat in a sauce that was cream and wine. Roy really had planned the meal just to irritate Edward. She was going to spend the night dancing with strangers just to teach the man a lesson in being a brat. "Sorry, Edward, you're too young to come have fun."

"It's more milk," Ed grumbled, eyeing Roy as if considering sending a knife flying across the table at any time.

"Just eat your chicken, brother. It looks so good."

At Al's wistful tone, Ed blushed and set to eating.

"Ed, Al, have you found anything interested at the museum?" Gracia asked, steering the conversation to something the brothers could take part in.

"Some really neat books," Ed said, "Nothing that helps us…yet but we're going to keep looking." He shot that at Roy.

"And I loved the glassware, I wish I could keep it." Al sighed.

Gracia artfully kept the conversation light throughout the rest of dinner. Riza envied her that ability. She had never developed it. Her father hadn't entertained and she had barely spent any time with her mother's side of the family or with Roy's family. Riza's whole life had been about duty. She wondered if she had ever been social.

Dinner plates were whisked away and dessert cups replaced them. Ed's face got even longer seeing the pudding.

"Now what form of milk did you find?" he mumbled, defeated.

"Ginger pudding with caramel sauce," Roy replied, arching an eyebrow. He waved one of the caterers over, whispering something to him. "It's my favorite."

"Well, it smells delicious. You should try it, Ed," Gracia said.

"I don't like pudding."

"It's pretty spicy," Maes said. "It doesn't taste like milk."

"That's okay." Ed pushed it away. "I'm full."

Riza knew that was a lie. She wondered if Roy felt the least bit bad. The caterer came back with a huge slice of cake and he set it in front of Ed.

"I thought you might like golden spice cake better, Edward. If anyone else wants to trade in your pudding, there's plenty of cake. I figured you and Maes could pick at it later, Gracia." Roy smiled.

Ed favored Roy with a different flavor of glare. Riza wondered if that was the only expression he was capable of giving Roy, not that the elder brat didn't deserve it. Ed tucked into his cake like he'd never seen food before but Riza had noticed, his complaining aside, there had been nothing left of his chicken but bones and all his vegetables had done a disappearing act.

"Thank you, Roy," Gracia said. "You picked out a delicious meal."

"Roy has good taste," Maes put in, looking at Roy over the rim of his glasses. "Though occasionally one has to suspect he has hidden agendas."

"Would I have a hidden agenda?" Roy reached for his wine glass.

"Yes, because you suck," Ed said around a mouthful of spice cake.

"Occasionally he does," Maes agreed, grinning at Roy. Ed seemed oblivious to the sparkle in Maes's eyes but Riza noticed Alphonse's helmet swiveling back and forth, as the boy observed the two men. Ed wasn't a worry but they would need to watch themselves around Alphonse.

Roy sipped his wine. "This is me ignoring you both."

Before Ed or Maes could retort, a siren echoed in the night then the phone rang. Riza felt tension yank at her spine as Maes lept up from the table. He spoke into the phone in short terse phrases so unlike him. He slammed the receiver down.

"Another fire." Maes moved to kiss Gracia as Roy and Riza got to their feet. "Sorry, love we have to go. Sorry to leave you here with the caterers. Boys, you watch out for Gracia and Elicia for a while then take a cab home and I mean that. Take a cab."

"We can help you," Ed protested.

"No!" Roy snapped then he held up a hand. "Sorry, but no. Edward. Do as Hughes asked, please."

"I really would like some help here, Edward, Alphonse," Gracia said and the boys consented.

"We have a car here," Riza said. "We'd better hurry."

"If I get there fast enough, I can help them extinguish the fire," Roy said, hustling out the door. Riza cast an apologetic look back at Gracia and the boys. The expression of fear on Gracia's face cut her. She nodded, hoping the woman would take that to mean Riza would do all she could to keep Gracia's husband safe.

Roy scrubbed a hand over his head, feeling grit grind into his skin. His uniform bore scorch marks and his lungs felt like someone had scrubbed them with broken glass. Blisters popped up on the back of one hand where he'd gotten a little too close to his element. They had gotten to the fire in time. The sky lit up seconds before a deafening crack of thunder sounded making Roy jump. At least under the intact roof of the warehouse, he was safe from the rain but not from the sounds of it beating on the tiles, taking him back to those horrible nights living with Hograth.

Convinced all the flames were well and truly out and no hot spots were lurking, waiting to flare up, Roy returned to Maes and Armstrong. He couldn't see where Riza had gone but trusted she was doing something needed. Roy only glanced down at the young victim at his friends' feet. He didn't want to see, to know, what had happened.

"The fire fighters got here before there was too much damage," Maes informed him.

"This isn't an Ishbalan child," Armstrong said, forcing Roy to look again.

Enough of this boy's face remained that they would be able to put out sketches, enough for the family to recognize him. Most of the fire had been concentrated lower, over the boy's legs and genitals. Roy pointed to it. "Wonder if that means something."

Maes nodded. "It could, given what this person does to these kids."

"What is this?" Armstrong squatted down, reaching into his jacket pocket for a pencil. He poked at a piece of half melted metal. "There seems to be some sort of insignia. It reminds me of something."

"We'll have to take that with us," Maes said then caught Roy's arm, leading him away from the body. "You did your part, Roy. I want you to look around, tell us what you think about the fire then go home."

"I can help," he protested.

"I know what this is doing to you," Maes argued.

"I'm not made of glass. I can-"

"Tell me about the fire, since it's the only reason you've been asked to help. It's all right to let investigations handle the rest." Maes's eyes narrowed then he whispered. "You're as stubborn as Ed."

Roy sighed, glancing back at the kid. "Accelerant was used this time but sloppier. He didn't apply it evenly, as if he was in a rush. You might be able to identify that boy."

"I hope so. All I could tell that family Shanti found was there were no boys with missing eyeteeth in the victim pool." Maes shrugged. "I guess that's something."

"It'll give that woman you met hope." Roy turned slowly around, pointing out a few places in the warehouse. "Those are other hot spots. But again, he's sloppier. Maes, I think you might be on to this guy."

"What makes you say that?"

"The sloppiness. Like he knows he's about to be caught and it no longer matters."

Maes rubbed his bearded chin. "That could be. We have talked to a few arsonist and people with a history of child abuse and that nurse you guys spoke to."

"He was strange. I think somewhere in that mix, Maes, is the person behind this."

"You could be right."

Roy studied his friend's expression, surprised to find something lurking there. "What is it? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No," Maes replied a little too quickly.

"You were never very good at lying to me," Roy pointed out.

"Christmas found out that Hograth's son is in town. We're trying to find him now," Maes whispered.

Roy stiffened, shoving Maes away. "When in the hell did you plan on telling me?"

"Once we had him and either eliminated him as a suspect or arrested him," Maes said frankly.

A fresh layer of sweat broke out all over him. Roy felt his legs shake. "That isn't fair, Maes."

"Isn't it? You didn't need to know."

"Says you."

"Go home now, Roy. Please, just go. Let _me_ handle this. You've done your part."

Roy wanted to protest but if he opened his mouth now he might say something he regretted. "I'm going to order Edward and Alphonse out of the city. I don't want them here, not with this person here. Notice that young man is blond? Most Ishbalans are, too. Ed's the right age and coloring for this freak."

"I'm not arguing." Maes put a hand on Roy's shoulder. "If he gives you a problem, let me help convince him. Don't just start ordering Ed around. You know in the end, he'll listen to you."

"Technically, he has no choice. I am his commanding officer." Roy ran a hand through his hair. "But you're right. You can sweet talk him better than I can."

"That's because you and Ed are too much alike and you irritate each other." Maes offered up a faint smile. "Go on, go make sure they're out of harms way. We'll discuss the rest of our findings tomorrow morning."

Roy consented to that, even though he really did want to help more. Maes was probably right. He wasn't an investigator and this really was bothering him on a very deep level. Roy found Riza but she insisted on being the one to drive to the visiting officer's quarters. Roy let her, collapsing down on the back seat. He stared up at the fabric where it tucked into the dome light of the car, letting the fears wash over him. Nick Hograth, the little prick had made Roy's life almost as much a hell as his father had. To this day, Roy felt haunted by the sounds of water hitting the roof. Those were the nights Hograth liked best to visit his young victims.

The dark mood wrapped him up like a blanket, staying with him even after he and Riza went looking for the brothers. Edward and Alphonse were right where they belonged. Trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes, Ed answered the door in nothing but a raggedy t-shirt and his boxers. His loose hair obscured his face.

"What the hell do you want?" Ed grated out. The boy turned red, realizing Riza was right behind Roy.

"Sir, is something wrong?" Al asked.

"He claimed another victim. He's killing almost every night now," Roy said flatly, pressing into the room. He hadn't ever really seen Edward this revealed. Yes, he had seen the boy before he got his automail but Roy hadn't given enough thought to how extensive the metal was. No wonder Edward fought so far for himself and his brother. No matter, Roy couldn't waiver. "You boys are leaving until this is settled."

"But we're not done with out work," Ed protested.

"We did promise Mr. Bishop we'd help," Al said less forcefully than his brother.

"You're going. Edward, don't make this order have to get nasty." Roy turned away, seeing Ed's anger rising. "Alphonse, I know I have no say over what you do and I know the person can't hurt you like he could your brother, but I'd hope you'd accompany Edward on his next assignment."

"We were so close to getting done." Ed's metal foot stomped, echoing loudly.

"Sir, can't we have one more day?"

Roy glanced back at Riza who returned his gaze impassively. He sighed. "You can go back to the museum tomorrow and tell Bishop you'll be back at a later date. It'll give me a day to get a real assignment ready but you're back here in this room right after dinner and you leave the next day. Fight me and you go at first light."

"You're an ass." Ed glowered.

"I'm an ass and you'll not end up part of a sex ring. I can live with that," Roy said, turning to leave.

"This isn't fair."

"Edward, this counts as fighting with me," Roy said wearily.

"Edward, this really is for the best," Riza said quietly.

The boy's shoulder's slumped. "Okay, but we don't have to like it."

Ed shut the door behind them. Roy turned to Riza holding out his hand. "I'll take the car " keys and walk you across the courtyard to the woman's VOQ," he said. "No sense in you driving me a few blocks then coming back here."

"They just don't see the risks, Roy. Boys that age don't." Riza deposited the keys in his hand.

"I know. That's why it's up to us to protect them."

Riza's fingers brushed his lightly. "You know you're doing the right thing here, Roy."

He nodded but doubts remained long after he had walked her to her quarters and he had driven back to his. His small cottage felt even more closed in as the rain beat down on the roof. Maybe he should have gone home to the little apartment in his mother's place but Roy kept telling himself he was an adult now. He shouldn't be afraid to sleep in a new place. Still, he lay awake half the night, waiting to hear Hograth's footsteps on the stairs.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note – this is slightly edited to fit FFN's restrictions. The unedited version can be found at my livejournal, cornerofmadess

Chapter Ten

"Hmm, that's not the usual type of woman Mustang usually has breakfast with," Breda said, spotting Madam Christmas as he and Riza walked into the diner that had become their defacto meeting place in the morning.

"If you'll notice, it's actually not Mustang's usual time to be up and functioning either. You and I are usually on a second cup of coffee before he straggles in, eyes still shut," Riza shot back, wondering what Roy's mother had got him out of bed so earlier for.

"Good point," Breda nodded, heading over to the table. He gave the middle-aged woman a curious look.

Christmas smiled at him over the rim of her lipstick-stained coffee cup. "Good morning. Roy's coworkers, I presume."

"That's Lieutenant Breda and she's Lieutenant Hawkeye," Roy said. "Madam Christmas. We were just talking about…our special assignment. Have a seat and get something quick for breakfast. I get the idea we're not going to be here long."

"Has something happened?" Riza sat next to Roy.

"Armstrong called me early," Roy said, stifling a yawn. "He thought that piece of metal last night might be a melted version of a Breckenridge jacket button."

"Why would they take a rich child?" Breda's brow wrinkled, his eyebrows meeting like two ginger caterpillars. "It doesn't make sense."

"It does if that nurse we talked to has something to do with it…or someone else at that school who might have seen us and got frightened," Roy said. "He might have decided one last party before leaving."

"These people covet the children closest to them," Christmas said and when Breda turned his gaze on her she added, "I've had experience in putting their kind in jail before."

Breda glanced at his boss but Roy didn't enlighten him as to who this woman was. Riza almost felt bad about keeping the man in the dark. She wondered if Breda was sharp enough to figure out some of it on his own.

"Hughes and Armstrong went back out to the Academy this morning," Roy said.

"And I was telling Roy that there is a known group buying and selling kids…well, known to those who aren't going to have anything to do with lawmen," Christmas said, her eyes narrowing. "The informants said the group is packing up. They're set to run."

"Do you know when and where?" Roy seemed calmer than Riza knew he had to be.

She shook her head. "It sounds like maybe they're trying to pool a little more money and take the kids with them when they go."

"Did the informants give you a name?" Breda asked.

"Hograth, Nick and Lauren, siblings," she replied. "Nick's the brawn and it seems like Lauren is the brains."

"Lauren? I wouldn't have expected a woman to do something like this," Riza said. She tried to remember what Roy had told her about that woman. Riza knew it was nothing good but she still wasn't expecting this.

"Some women don't care about kids in the least," Christmas replied. They were raised by a pedophile, probably learned early the money they could make selling kids and never did learn to value them."

"That's horrible," Breda said.

"Their father was arrested for doing this same thing a couple decades ago." Roy's hand shook as he sipped his coffee. "Any idea where they are, ma'am?"

"Not yet but we're looking. I'll let you know." Christmas got up and put a few sens down on the table. "Glad I was a help."

Riza watched the older woman go then tried to assess Roy's face. He was so shut down she couldn't detect a single emotion. That was more frightening than him rip-roaring drunk. "Sir, what do we do now?"

"Eat," Roy muttered. "We still have to keep alive." He managed a faint smile. "Then we tell Hughes what we just learned and it might be the end of the investigation for us. We were just here to deal with reading the fires."

"And hopefully we're done with that," Riza finished his thought for him, signaling for the waitress to come over.

"Of course they'll be working with the new information all day," Roy said. "This isn't going to happen overnight. There goes the relaxation for tonight."

"Sir?" Breda cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Gran ordered me to give everyone a break at that dance you were looking at but I'm not sure if there'll be time." Roy shrugged. "Could we get so lucky to have a few hours off?"

"We need those as much as we need food," Riza reasoned.

Roy shrugged. Riza hoped Maes simply said that they had done enough and send Roy away as forcefully as the alchemist had sent away the brothers. Just like them, it would be for the best, even if Roy couldn't see it.

"I don't see why it was necessary to have me come down here with an escort," Beckert sniffed at Maes.

"There have been some strange circumstances at your school," Hughes lied. No one was sure yet if there was a missing boy at the Academy. Armstrong had taken some men and gone to investigate and to talk to Beckert's coworkers.

"What does that have to do with me?" The man's eyes weren't one Maes. He was taking in the dinghy grey cinder block walls and the utter lack of a window in the interrogation room.

"Maybe nothing but I wouldn't be doing my due diligence if I didn't ask you a few more questions," Maes replied.

"I can't imagine I have anything to tell you," Beckert said sourly.

"You might not but I have to ask. Were you aware there was another fire last night?"

Beckert shrugged. "It's a big city. I'd imagine there are fires every night."

"Not like this one. Luckily, this one went out faster than the arsonist intended."

At that, Beckert's eyes snapped up to meet Maes's, something lurking in them. "Oh?"

Maes waved him off. "We have a suspicion that a young man from your academy was killed in that fire. You can see, with two fires tangentially around you, we have to ask some questions."

"I am not an arsonist. I have no interest in burning down buildings. That soldier who came to the school yesterday, I remembered who he was," Beckert said. "The Flame Alchemist. If you're looking for an arsonist, how much further do you have to look than him?"

"I'm not too worried about him. Flame is helping me with this. It always helps to have an expert on fire to help catch an arsonist." Maes tapped his fingers against the table. Poor Roy, every time someone thought about fires, they brought the Flame Alchemist up. It would hurt Roy to know that but Maes suspected his friend already figured that's all anyone thought of him. "We're going to talk to your coworkers and neighbors, Mr. Beckert, just to assure ourselves that you were where you said you were."

"This is absurd. Why would I be running around town, setting fire?"

"To hide the bodies of children you've raped and killed," Maes replied, watching his bluntness hit home. He knew he wouldn't get too many more chances to talk to this man. Beckert lounged back on his chair, an oddly superior look on his face. The man didn't think Maes had any evidence, which was true. He didn't have much more than his suspicions and Maes realized he might have just overplayed his hand.

"Now why would I do something horrible like that?" Beckert's smug tone made Maes think they were definitely on the right track. "I'm a school nurse. Yes, I do love children but not in that way. I'm there to help them, not hurt them."

"So if I were to send a team out to your house, they'd find nothing incriminating?"

Beckert's eyes flicked away at that question then he stared down at the table. "Nothing at all." He lifted his chin. "Go ahead."

Maes schooled all expression off his face. He didn't want to let this guy know he was close to beating the interview. "It's already in the works."

"If you want to waste your time, be my guest," Beckert said and something told Maes he was missing something. If Beckert had something to hide, maybe it wasn't in the man's house.

Before Maes could formulate another question to try and cow this man, someone knocked on the door. Lieutenant Barclay poked her head in, giving him a nervous look. Then again, when didn't Barclay look nervous? "Yes, Lieutenant."

"Urgent phone call on the line for you, sir, from Major Armstrong," Barclay said.

"Keep Mr. Beckert company, Barclay," Maes said getting up. He had no fear the young lady would reveal anything important. She knew nothing about this case. Her job was more administrative. She looked at him like he had just asked her to single-handedly detain a mass murderer. Well, maybe he had.

Maes's feet could have carried him to the phone banks without him even looking. He spent that much time on the lines, mostly to Mustang passing along coded messages and most recently, making sure Roy didn't miss out on a moment's of his 'niece's' life. The operator handed him a receiver. "Hughes here."

"Lieutenant colonel, something developed at the Academy," Armstrong said. "Once we started asking around about Beckert, the school librarian tried to make a run for it. Not exactly made of stern stuff, this Mr. Mudica. He confessed to making photographs while Beckert performed with his dolls as Mudica put it."

"Dolls?" Maes hissed.

"Yes, sir." Armstrong's disgust was evident. "It appears Mudica was the one who killed the two girls, said Beckert talked him into it. We're taking down his full confession now. I only had to flex once and he started talking and hasn't shut up yet."

Hughes tried not to laugh at the idea of Armstrong torturing a weak-willed man with his muscles. There was nothing funny about this. "Just bring him in and Armstrong, look in both the library and the nurse's station for those photos. Beckert is too sure we're not going to find anything in his home. If they're taking photographic souvenirs, then they have to be keeping them somewhere."

"I'll be sure we take apart every part of this school that could hide such things. And, sir, he said they were buying the children from the Hograths. Mudica said they still have a large number of children with them and are planning to take them with them when they leave."

"We need to find them, too," Maes said, hanging up. He hadn't been able to find anything for Shanti to relay but at least he would be able to put two killers of children in a deep hole where no one would find them. Maes worked with a killer. He usually hated working under Gran but he would love to put the general in the same room with Mudica and Beckert and let the alchemist show off for them.

Maes went back into the interrogation, waving Barclay out. "Mr. Beckert, I'm sure you know Mr. Mudica. Would you like to know what he's telling us?" With that question, Maes knew he had the bastard.

"To success." Maes raised his glass, his arm around Gracia's shoulder. Roy had to admit, motherhood seemed to be agreeing with her. She looked radiant, even if tired. The devore plum velvet gown, patterned in chrysanthemums made her look so cute, Roy regretted she wouldn't be able to come play with them later in the evening.

Roy raised his glass. "I'm almost disappointed I didn't get to help bring them in."

"You might not have," Maes replied darkly and Gracia tapped his hand, her lips pursing. "But there is still the Hograths."

"I'd rather Roy not help with them," Riza said too quickly for Roy's tastes. "Too many bad memories."

Roy frowned at her. Breda was with Kavita elsewhere in the dance club and the band so loud, they all felt free to talk. He didn't like that his friends didn't trust his control. "I'm fine, Riza. I'm in control of myself. I'm not going to do anything stupid. Just don't tell Fullmetal about this. Let me send him away for a couple of weeks until we find the Hograths. The two people Maes arrested weren't finding their own kids."

"Until that last boy from the school itself," Maes corrected him.

"True." Roy scowled. "I don't want to talk about this. We're here to have fun. You and Gracia have only a few hours before you're taking her home. I want to dance."

"Do you think it will be safe for you to dance with Riza here? Soldiers do come here," Gracia said. "One of your men is here."

"I think it will be okay if Riza dances with Maes, too." Roy shrugged. "I'd say Riza could cut in into Breda's dancing but I think he only has eyes for my sister."

"Poor fellow. None of your sisters are…well, let's just say they're usually tricky to deal with." Gracia smiled.

Roy laughed then shot back his whiskey. As the band started a new song with a driving beat, he held out his hand to Riza. "May I have this dance?"

"If you trust me in heels?" Riza glanced down at her black, steel-rhinestoned heels. "It's been so long since I've worn any."

"I always trust you. Besides," He smirked. "You're dancing with me and how could you possibly look bad doing that?"

Riza huffed at him and Gracia laughed. "Oh, Riza, how do you get his ego into a room with him? Is it part of your job to run ahead and butter the doorways?" the young mother asked.

"Back east, they come pre-buttered," Riza replied and Gracia howled.

Roy pouted at them. "Very funny, you two. I could always go find other lovely ladies to dance with."

"But could you find one lovelier than the one standing in front of you?" Maes asked.

Roy's eyes swept over Riza. She was the most lovely thing he had ever seen. Her hair had been let long and loose to cover any hints of ink along her neckline. Maroon panels of silk chiffon dashed down to her waistline and thin strips of it added flare to her skirt. Most of the skirt and the side panels of her dress were matching maroon flowery lace. Roy couldn't think too hard on what lay just under that lace or he'd be in trouble. "I could never find anyone who would be her match."

Riza's soft smile almost undid him. Roy hated this life that kept him from a woman he loved so much. One day, he promised himself, one day they could be together. "Occasionally, Roy, you do say the best things."

"Shall we dance?"

"Oh, yes."

Roy spun Riza out not the dance floor and if she were having troubles with her heels, he didn't notice. She matched the fast paced music, her lacy skirt swirling around her legs, giving him brief glimpses of her garters. It was enough to drive him insane. The dance was prelude to what would come later and in the back of his mind, Roy realized anyone looking at them dance would think they were lovers. He wished he cared more.

Roy traded with Maes, dancing to a slightly slower paced song with Gracia. It made him happy to see her having a good time. Eventually, he did find a few other ladies to dance with and Riza danced with a guy or two but when the music slowed down to a waltz, Riza was back in his arms. Feeling her against him, Roy allowed himself to feel good about what had happened today and just relaxed. What bad could possibly happen now?

Al wasn't happy with him, but it was worth it. Ed had heard, when he surfaced from the museum for lunch, that Hughes had caught the two guys raping and killing kids. He still didn't really see what it had to do with him or why Mustang was so freaked out about the off chance Ed might get captured. No one could lure him into something he didn't want to do. Ed wasn't twelve, no matter what the calendar said. He was far more mature.

Al hadn't wanted him to go alone, but the truth was, they weren't entirely sure where Mustang was. Ed had heard a rumor that Mustang was going to a dance club so in an attempt to talk the bastard out of sending them away, Ed sent Al to Mustang's housing while he went to the club alone. Al would only bring unwanted attention.

It hadn't been difficult to find the club. Ed could feel the vibrations of the music from outside. Smoke billowed out the open door. Ed realized a miscalculation in his plan. There was a bouncer at the door and he was twelve and looked younger. Squaring his shoulders, he pulled out his pocket watch and strode over to the big man like he belonged inside. The man put a hand out.

"What do you think you're doing, kid?"

Ed wagged the watched. "I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist. I need to speak to the Flame Alchemist. He's inside."

"Doesn't mean you get to be," the man said.

"I have to speak to him. It's urgent," Ed protested, taking another step forward. He swung his pocket watch back and forth. "Seriously."

The big man sighed and turned inside. "Jeff, go get Mustang. Tell him there's someone at the door for him."

"It would be easier if I just went in," Ed stuffed his watch away.

"Look kid, I have a job to do. That includes keeping the underaged out. No fancy silver watch changes that. This isn't a military establishment," the bouncer replied.

Ed huffed. "At least, he's in there."

The bouncer snorted. "Mustang knows the owner, he's always here, girlfriend stealing son of a …" The man stared down at Ed, letting the insult go.

"Yeah, he is," Ed agreed cheerily, deciding it didn't matter if he got inside or not. Telling Mustang he was staying now that the bad guys were caught was all that mattered. What he didn't bank on was Mustang appearing with Hughes in tow. What was he doing here? Shouldn't he be home with his baby, not out having fun?"

"Edward, what in the hell are you doing here?" Roy demanded to know.

"Let's not talk about this in front of the door." Hughes pointed across the street which was relative deserted.

"You and I need to talk!" Ed stomped his way across the road. "And what you are doing here, Hughes?"

"Taking my wife out for a few hours of fun, which you are now impeding," Hughes replied, crossly.

Ed scowled. He hadn't meant to do that. "Sorry."

"You didn't answer my question. I told you go straight home and pack," Roy said. "Not go wandering around at night completely alone. Is Alphonse the only one listening?"

"No, he's looking….um, forget about Al." Ed slashed his hand across, chest high. "I know you caught the men hurting the kids. I'm not leaving."

Roy's arms crossed and he gave Ed that superior look he hated so much. It was then Ed realized the bastard wasn't in uniform. It seemed strange seeing him in a deep grey suit with a hat on his head. Was Hughes's suit blue and purple pinstripe? Where would one find such a thing? "You are going and that's final. You have a new job to do and if you don't care to do it, you can sit in the stockade for a while. It's all the same to me."

Somehow Ed doubted that. "But you caught the guys."

"We caught the killers but not the team rounding up kids for sale," Maes said. "Edward, just do as we ask, please. It shouldn't take us long to find the flesh peddlers and then you come back. You'll notice the assignment Roy gave you is only for two weeks. That's barely any time at all."

"But I can take care of myself. There's no need to go now. You _know_ who it is, right?" Ed was not about to back down now. Mustang really wouldn't put him in the stockade."

"And they might flee. My men are looking for them right now, it's true, but this is a big city," Maes replied.

"Just go home and pack, Edward. I promise you nothing is going to be lost in those two weeks away. You might even find a new lead," Roy said, making Ed wondered about the purpose of the proposed mission.

"I just don't see why I can't stay here and finish then go do that."

"Edward, go home. Behind me is a building full of beautiful young women, ready to dance with me. Do you know what that means? Of course not, you're _twelve_ and clueless as to the fun said beautiful young women can be. Go home and quit bothering me," Roy whined.

Hughes glanced at him sourly. "Remind me not to set you down with the boys for that big talk, Roy. You'll warp them."

"Granny already did that talk and it was terrifying enough then." Ed shuddered. He'd never look at squash and socks the same way again.

"Fine, so you know what you're costing us standing here." Roy tapped his chest, his tie jiggling. "Or at least me. Hughes has a squalling baby to go home to."

"And I'm happy about that," Hughes replied. "Edward, I'd go pack before he decides you _do_ need a long lecture on the subtleties of sex."

Ed grunted. "I still don't…"

"You don't have to understand my reasons, Edward. I'm your commanding officer. You will stop arguing with my commands," Roy said and Ed could hear it in the man's tone. This was final.

"Fine, but I hate it," Ed said. "Hope you go home alone, Colonel."

Mustang sputtered, but allowed Hughes to wheel him around and take him back inside. Ed started back for home. Al would be disappointed, but there was only so far he could push Mustang without openly defying him and Ed knew enough about the military to know that Mustang couldn't allow that, even if he did sympathize with Ed's desires to help his brother.

As Ed walked, the smells wafting from the food vendors strategically parked outside the clubs and bars made his belly rumble. Al wasn't expecting him back at any certain time. It wouldn't hurt to stop for something to eat. Ed found a stand that was at the end of the row next to a couple of convenient benches. Spicy smells lured him closer to the stand. "What is this?"

"A type of stew they like in the desert." The man jerked his chin at the park nearby. Ed knew that beyond that was the Ishbalan slum. "It's spicy and good. A lot of the soldiers got a taste for it. Would you like a bowl, kiddo?"

"Yeah, sure." Ed traded the sens for a big bowl of the stew. The spices tickled his nose as he took a tentative sniff. The stew was hot both in temperature and spice level, delicious, too. Ed paid for a refill. By the time he got halfway through that, he felt so tired. He had worked hard all day and it was getting really late. Ed's eyes felt as heavy as Al's armor. Yawning broadly, he tried to polish off more of his stew.

Giving it up as a lost cause, Ed thought about getting a cab. Around here it should be easy. Yawning again, he got up and the world spun then tilted. Vaguely aware he was falling, Ed crashed into the bench then onto the ground. His moan of pain died as the night got very dark.

Roy sucked against the salty skin of Riza's neck as her short nails raked down his back. Shifting his weight as he slowly thrust up into her, Roy trailed his lips down over a delicate collarbone.

"He does look so sweet when he's like this, doesn't he, Riza? Innocent yet wicked at the same time," Maes said.

One of Riza's hands played through Roy's damp hair. "He's never completely innocent but we don't need him to be."

Roy chuckled against her heated skin. "You just going to stand there, chattering like usual, Maes, or are you going to come over here and fuck me?"

"You've been bossy all night. I would have thought Riza would have tired you out while I took Gracia home and got her settled. If she hadn't insisted I come back here I might have abandoned you, Mr. Cranky." Maes wagged a lubricant-slicked finger at Roy.

"He's not going to be easy to tire," Riza said, her hands smoothing down Roy's back to massage his buttocks.

"You two have been wanting me here like this since the day I got off the train." Roy flicked his tongue over her skin. "You don't want me tired."

"We're just happy you went to the pharmacy." Maes got onto the bed with the couple. "Though there wasn't much doubt you wouldn't."

"One of these days, I'll surprise you." Roy said.

"Not about wanting us, you won't," Maes assured him, trailing his oiled finger around Roy's opening.

"No," Roy panted. "Probably not." He sealed his mouth over Riza's, his tongue probing into her as his hips slowed.

Maes chuckled low, rasping. "You are so eager tonight. It has been awhile, hasn't it? I'm not sure how you made it through a night of dancing first."

"Chattering again. Do I have to beg?" Roy whimpered.

With his unoiled hand, Maes caught a handful of Roy's hair. "I like it when you beg." He leaned over Roy's back, kissing Riza hard and hungry.

Roy fisted his fingers in the bedding. "I need you both," he pleaded.

Maes's lips brushed against Roy's cheek then lipped his earlobe. They continued their travels down Roy's neck and over his shoulder. None of them were in a hurry, each thrust and rock of the hip slow like honey dripping from a spoon. The belabored bed squeaked out the symphony of their movements, sharp and loud as the three of them ground together.

Maes let Roy down on the mattress gently then crashed down next to him and Riza. Roy kissed Riza's belly then rolled over to kiss Maes, too. "You can stay with us a little longer, can't you?" Roy asked.

Maes grinned. "I'm not done with you yet. How many neckties did you bring or will I need a belt?"

Roy laughed, burrowing into the bedding. "Just let me catch my breath a little."

Al was officially frightened. Ed hadn't come home and it was getting late, far too late. It was well past midnight and there had been no signs of his brother. Al had checked with the desk clerk but not only hadn't he not seen Ed, he hadn't seen Breda come in either. Al called the desk clerk of the women officers' quarters but she refused to tell him anything. Al checked Breda's room but there was no answer. He didn't know which room was Riza's and he didn't want to call the Hugheses yet and wake up the baby. That meant he had to go back to Mustang's cottage. Ed had been going to see the man. Maybe he had found him and forgotten to call the hotel.

Al knocked on the door, hating to disturb the colonel at such a late hour. Ed would be so mad at Al for this but better a mad Ed than a dead one. Al knocked again, wondering if the colonel could be frightened awake and come out swinging, or in his case, flinging fire. Ed sometimes woke up screaming, attacking things in his dreams, especially if Al accidentally startled him.

The door banged open and the colonel stood there, his mouth dropping open as he saw Al. If the colonel had been in bed, he must have been having a rough night. His hair and face were sweaty and his hair stood up unevenly. While Al didn't have a real sense of smell any more, he'd bet the man would smell funny. Confusion and irritation drained out of the alchemist's eyes, replaced by concern.

"Alphonse, where's Edward? Why are you here so late?"

"Ed never came home, sir. I was hoping maybe he was here but…" Al's armor rattled. "But he's not, is he?"

"Son of a bitch." Mustang spun on one hell, heading inside. "Hughes, Hawkeye, Ed's gone missing."

Al stepped in after him, surprised to see the other two officers in the living room. All of them had the same somewhat haggard, exhausted look Mustang did.

"We were having … a conference on what to do about the child kidnapping ring," Hughes said. Al didn't really believe him for some reason, but he wasn't sure what else it could be.

"When did you see your brother last?" Mustang asked.

"When he went to find you," Al replied. "He was going to the club."

Mustang's dark e yes hardened. "He found me but that was hours ago."

"He never came back." Al's gloves curled into fists. "I got worried."

"You have us worried now, too," Hughes assured him.

"We'll help you look," Riza said, pushing the phone toward Hughes. "You'd better call out your men."

Hughes nodded. "At least we know where Ed was last seen."

"Harassing me at the club." Mustang put his hand on Al's glove. Al knew the older alchemist was well aware he couldn't feel the comfort of that action but Al appreciated it anyhow. "We _will_ find him, Alphonse."

"How could they have gotten hold of Edward, if that is what happened?" Riza asked.

"I'm not sure," Mustang said.

"Ed is so quick and cunning, like a fox," Al said. "That's why I'm so worried."

"I'm sending for a car so we can get back there quickly," Hughes said.

"Thank you," Al said, hating that those words seemed to inadequate to cover what he was feeling right now. He wished Ed treated Mustang better since the man was so willing to help.

Hughes got the car there quickly. None of them took the time to change back into their uniforms, going out in the outfits they must have worn to the club since Al decided that was where they all had to have been in their suits and Hawkeye's lovely dress. He just wasn't sure why Hughes hadn't said that. The street wasn't quiet yet around the club since the bars weren't closed yet. A quick conversation with the bouncer gave them a path to follow.

"Why would Edward come down this way?" Mustang asked. "It would have been easier to get a cab at the corner."

"Ed doesn't seem like the take a cab sort of kid to me," Hughes replied.

"Food," Al put in. "The food vendors are down there. Ed is always hungry."

"Boys are walking stomachs," Riza said, clicking down the street. Al didn't know how women wore shoes like that. Her feet had to hurt.

Al felt a tightness inside him that he couldn't quite explain. It was as if he still had a stomach to knot up. There were several open slots where some vendors had gone home early. What if no one had seen his brother? He should have made a drawing of Ed to show people.

"Yeah, I saw a little kid matching that description," a woman – or Al thought she might be a woman. It was hard to tell – told Hughes. "He was down there at the end."

Al glanced where she pointed. There was nothing there but an empty spot for a vendor.

"Downard packed up early. He usually stays until…" the woman trailed off.

"Until?" Hughes prompted.

"Nothing."

"Look, we don't care if you guys sell to the Ishbalans after hours," Mustang said. "We just need to find that boy. He's a state alchemist. If anything happens to him, there could be trouble for all the vendors."

She sighed heavily. "The kid took sick. Downard said he was closing up early to take the kid to the hospital. You might want to look there for him."

"Does this man close early often?" Hawkeye asked.

"Sometimes, yes. He shares the stand with Miller. They make this Ishbalan stew. It's popular with the kids who cut through the park to the slums." She met Mustang's gaze as if knowing he was the one in charge even though he didn't have on his uniform. "Are we in trouble for selling to the Ishbalans?"

"No, they need to eat, too," Mustang replied. "Alphonse." Mustang beckoned him into the shadows then asked if Al had a tablet on him. Grateful the man gave him shadows to work with – maybe he thought Al carried things inside him - Al pulled it out of leg pouch. "Ma'am, could you describe those two men for us?"

Al drew quickly as the woman obeyed. Mustang thanked her, giving her a generous tip while Hughes went to the phone booth at the end of the street. Al figured he was getting men over to the hospitals.

"Ed's not at the hospital, is he?" Al asked mournfully.

"Probably not," Hughes said.

"But I think we have an answer," Mustang put in. "We know these two were serving Ishbalan children. It would probably be easy to cart them out in a trunk that they carted the food in. The stew was probably drugged whenever a good prospect came up to the stand. Ed is small and I guess he might be considered cute when he's not scowling. They might have decided for one last grab, if our information about them getting out of town is correct."

"How are we going to find Ed before something bad happens?" Al couldn't keep his voice from shaking.

Mustang gazed at him evenly. "Trust me, Alphonse, I know some of the most resourceful people in this town. We _will _find your brother."

Al had no choice but to believe him.

"Do you really think it was smart to send those two fools out tonight?" Lauren followed her brother through the warehouse. "We're about to leave."

"No sense in not grabbing a few more kids to take with us." Nick shrugged. "They won't have any connection to the place we're going."

Lauren couldn't argue that. When they got into the main part of the warehouse where they stored the food items that made up their cover, Miller had another young Ishbalan boy he was undressing so he could put him in the white outfit Lauren had chosen for their merchandise. It made the kids look more innocent. Next to Miller, Downward was busy doing the same to a young girl. He had a second young teen tossed onto the floor like a broken doll.

"Looks like you guys did well," Nick said.

"It's almost too easy," Miller replied, chuckling.

"Nick, give Downard a hand with that boy. I don't want to dawdle. I'd like to be gone by this time tomorrow." Lauren stabbed a finger at the little blond lying on the floor.

Nick favored his sister with a sour look. "You don't have to be so bitchy about it." He rifled the boy's pockets then stood up, grinning, a silver watch dangling between his fingers. "This will bring in a nice handful of sens."

Lauren gasped, running over to her brother. She grabbed the watch. "You idiots, don't you know what this is?"

"A pocket watch," Nick replied sarcastically.

"It's a state alchemist watch. You just brought the military here," Lauren hissed, kicking the boy's ankle, hearing it clank.

"He's just a kid. How could he be a state alchemist?" Nick asked.

"Probably stole the watch," Downard said as Lauren knelt down.

"He's got an automail leg," she said, running her hand up the captive boy's leg.

"Arm, too. I was thinking we could sell him to Martin. You know how he loves his amputees." Nick chuckled. "Of course, he probably wants the kid without his metal limbs. Know how to get the limbs off?"

"It's not exactly easy," Lauren said. "You should just take him and drop him in a gutter somewhere. It's too dangerous to keep him."

"If anyone cared about this kid, would he have been wandering around alone at night?" Nick pocketed the watch. "How would the military know to come looking for him here?"

"They might," Lauren argued. "Toss him."

"No way. Martin will pay way too much."

Lauren sighed. "Fine, keep him for sale. I'm leaving on the train tonight. You guys follow tomorrow. But word of warning, brother, alchemists need to be able to draw or have their array on their body some place. You'd better be sure to get that array off of him and disable one of his arms."

"Hmmm, Martin won't like it if I break the real arm." Nick rubbed his chin.

"No, he would not," Lauren said. "Just dump the brat. Hell, dump him in the damn river for all I care. Money isn't everything."

"Just go ahead, sis. I'll handle this and make the money," Nick said, disgusted with her. He stripped the boy's pants off then his shirt. "Damn, all this damage, it'll get Martin so hard, he'll pay us a fortune. Downard, get me a sledgehammer. I'll get this arm off the old-fashioned way."

"You do that then. I'll see you soon," Lauren said, deciding she would take the first train anywhere then slowly go to the prearranged meeting place, just in case her moron brother didn't get himself caught. "I'd leave the leg and let Martin decide what he wants. The arm though, has to go."

"This will be fun." Nick bounced like a kid with candy.

Lauren left to the sounds of metal hitting metal.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"We need to find these people fast," Roy told his mother.

Maes stifled a yawn. It was barely dawn and the investigator knew Christmas and her team had been working through the night, too. He and Roy had only managed a few hours sleep. Riza and Breda were working leads with Alphonse and Armstrong. Al was trying to be strong but Maes knew the poor kid was terrified. Al understood what might be happening to his brother, more or less. Maes wasn't entirely sure Alphonse knew exactly how sex worked.

"I've already been working on it. Knowing that they've been using street vending helps," Christmas replied, the ash of her cigarette dangling precariously close to her coffee cup.

Someone knocked at the door and Chris called for them to come in. Maes didn't know this young woman. She was a pretty blonde, probably still in her teens. "Madam, I think we found one of the people you're looking for."

"Where?" Roy barked before Christmas could. "Who?"

"The woman. Someone matching her description caught the last train out to Tinkerswood up near Briggs," she replied.

Roy started to say something. Maes held up his hand, stopping him. "I'll call the base in Briggs and get someone to the train station."

Christmas pushed the phone toward him and Maes put in his call. The blonde darted back out and Roy paced the room, picking at the problem of where in the city these people could be, _if_ they were even still in the city.

"They couldn't have taken them on the train," Roy said as Maes spoke to the base commander. "Do you think they could have split up?"

"You're the one who grew up with the Hograths," Christmas replied.

"For a year, twenty years ago," Roy protested, flopping into a chair. "Lauren is the brains. Nick was a moron then and I can't believe he's gotten any smarter. He's a bully but Lauren usually can control him."

"You have to consider the best case scenario, Roy Boy. If she's smart, she's going on ahead to set up the practice somewhere else. Also, if she's not traveling with their merchandise, the chances of her getting caught are slim. If you hadn't had us watching the train stations, we wouldn't have even the lead we do," Christmas said. "It's not easy for me to find any information on these people. Pedophiles talk to each other, share with each other but outside of the group, not so much so. I've had a few of your brothers looking around. They're not going to be confessing their predilections to a woman so I put some men on their trail."

"I know all about the sharing." Roy hunched on his chair.

Maes hung up the phone and went over, resting a hand on Roy's shoulder. "They'll be on the lookout."

"I did have a thought about the food vendors. Like you said, Roy, it's a good way to get a sleeping draught into a kid." Christmas snuffed out her cigarette and helped herself to her coffee before continuing her thought. "That means they really do have to have food and food service products. They have to keep the kids somewhere. Why not hidden away inside the bowels of a legitimate business or warehouse?"

"That's a very good thought," Maes said. "I had been thinking about that myself. The problem is just how very many warehouses there are."

"You could probably find records on which have nothing to do with food service," Christmas said. "I don't have a handy map with that sort of thing. It's not something I usually need."

"We can get it," Maes replied as Roy rolled to his feet. "Let me borrow the phone again. I'll call ahead and get them started."

She waved a hand to the phone then got up. Christmas caught Roy in a big hug.

"What was that for?"

"You need it. Don't you do anything foolish, Roy boy. You keep your head on straight," she warned.

"I'll keep him out of trouble," Maes said, turning back to his phone call. He just wished that he was entirely sure he could keep Roy in line when they found the ring.

Nausea hauled Ed out of a dead sleep. He swallowed hard, trying to calm his stomach. Cracking open one eye, Ed tried to figure out why his mattress was so hard. Military quarters were never that comfortable but this was truly dreadful. Nothing looked right. Forcing the fog from his mind, Ed, struggled to sit up. Overbalancing, he landed on his right side. Ed tried to push up but nothing happened. Shaking his head, nearly blinding himself with his braid, Ed realized his arm was gone. "What the fuck?"

Sniffling caught his attention, dragging it over to his left. Beside him, four other kids, his age or younger, were chained to the wall, with enough heavy rope to allow them to lie down or get to the bucket in the corner but not much more. Ed scrutinized where he was. Ropes ringed around his wrist and ankles, leading back to the same hefty tie-down rings on the walls. They were surrounded by boxes completely obscured the view of the room but also hide them at the same time. The only window was small and set up high near the unfinished ceiling. Warehouse? It couldn't be a barn in the city, right? Why the hell was he dressed in all white and what had happened to his arm?

What was left of his arm ached, especially when he tried to move. Wires stuck out of the ragged end, sparking erratically every so often. What the hell? Ed's breath hitched. Son of a bitch, Mustang had been right. It was still dangerous. He was never going to hear the end of this.

"Do you know where they are? The ones who brought us here?" Ed asked quietly.

"Just woke up," one of the boys said. Ed realized he was the only non-Ishbalan.

"They are usually in the office. We're never completely alone," one of the other boys said, his red eyes downcast. "Only me and Maen are what's left of the kids they were keeping here." He nodded his chin at the girl who looked alert. The other girl could barely focus her eyes and Ed knew how she felt. "I'm Rabi, not that it matters any more."

Ed took another deep swallow, trying to ignore the pain and nausea and his own rising anger. "It matters. I'm Ed and we're getting out of here."

Rabi snorted. "Think we haven't tried? Do you know what they're going to do to you?"

"I have a pretty good idea," Ed said at the same time the other boy said, "No."

"They were very happy about you," Rabi informed him. "They have a buyer who likes boys with missing limbs. They're going to sell you for a lot."

"Sell?" the other newly captured boy squeaked.

"Not if I can help it." Ed looked around again. His living arm was uninjured, bad move on the kidnappers' part. He just needed something to write with or in. The flooring around them was too well-used by the captives to be dusty. "What's in those boxes?"

"Stuff to make the stew, well the flour and spices," Maen said. "Why does it matter?"

"Can we open one? Could you help me?" Ed said, rolling up onto his knees.

"What do you plan on doing? Blinding them with the spice?" Rabi screwed up his face. "I guess they do have knives but could we get them and cut ourselves free before they stop choking on pepper?"

"No, I'm an alchemist," Ed said proudly then realized he had forgotten who he was talking to. The kids gave him an uncomfortable look. Too bad, he was going to save them with alchemy like it or not. "I just need something to draw in. Let's see if we can spread stuff on the floor. I can get the ropes off of us and get us out of here."

"You can really do that?" Rabi hissed, leaning in close.

"Yeah, I can. I might need help. I'm guessing all three of us were drugged last night." Ed gestured to the other two newcomers. "We might need help running and they took off my arm. I'll need help with the boxes."

Rabi nodded. "Let's help him."

Ed had the groggy boy try to awake up the newly captured girl more fully, while he helped Rabi and Maen with the boxes. Damn, why did Rabi have to be bigger than him? The kid better not be younger. They found a sack of garlic powder.

"That'll work. Spread it on the floor, deep. I need to be able to draw in it. It'll take me awhile. I'm not that good with this hand," Ed said, cursing the people who had done this to him. His watch was gone. That meant they knew what he was. That's probably why his arm was gone. Winry was going to murder him if he actually managed to escape. He wasn't sure what was worse, Winry or getting sold. Well, Winry wouldn't hurt him…much.

Ed sat down, trying to breathe through his mouth so he wouldn't sneeze all over his array and ruin it. His left hand shook a little as he drew in the pungent powder. He was so used to clapping and his left hand ached a little as if whoever had done this to him had tried something. It finally soaked into his drug-addled brain that his hand was bruised and swollen. They must have tried to break the bone and done a lazy job of it. Forcing himself to ignore the pain, Ed managed to get the array drawn. Awkwardly, he got his palm into the center but the ropes fell away.

"God, you did it," Rabi muttered. He moved to the edge of the boxes, peering around. "They're in the office. Now what? We can't go through the door."

"Spread so more powder. I'll make us a door," Ed said triumphantly. No one was selling him.

It took him even longer to draw the array to open a door in the wall. This bit of alchemy wasn't as quiet as the other. The door wasn't quite as big as Ed was used to creating them but it would do. "Hurry," he said, waving them through.

The Ishbalan children wasted no words. They slipped out the hole and down the alley, like ghosts. He was surprised to find them so silent then realized that they probably made a habit of quietly sneaking into town for food and other things they might need.

They hadn't even gotten to the mouth of the alley when they heard the alarm go up. Ed didn't even have to tell the Ishbalans to pick up the pace. He was worried more about his own abilities to keep up. The drugs were still sucking at his brain. Then something exploded into flames, which quickly died.

"What was that?" Rabi asked, stumbling to a stop.

"Someone coming to our rescue," Ed said, knowing only one man who could make such a splashy entrance.

Roy knew what the looks Riza and Maes were giving him meant. 'How exactly was _this_ low key and sane?' To Roy, it was the right thing to do. The two men had come out a warped hole in the wall – Edward's handiwork no doubt. The brat was right, he could handle himself. Roy would never hear the end of it – and they had spotted Maes's men instantly. Rats tended to sense danger, after all. Alphonse studied Roy coolly, making no protest over Roy's little snap of his fingers.

"I just singed their hair," he assured everyone. Of course, he hadn't quite anticipated the barrels of old cooking oil that caught fire but he got those under control.

"Go put them in custody," Maes told a sergeant whose name Roy hadn't heard. Maes came over to Roy. "Anything else you'd like to set on fire?"

Roy glanced over to the two moaning men. "Hograth."

"Where's Edward?" Riza pointed to the wall.

"Could be long gone but we'd better look," Maes said, turning to Armstrong. "Handle things here. We're going to go look for the kids."

Roy didn't wait for a response. He headed down the alley, a natural escape route from where Ed had opened his door. He picked up the pace, Riza right at his heel, when he heard voices. Ed was challenging someone but there was something off about the young man's tone, a false bravado Roy wasn't used to. Ed was brash and overconfident but now he didn't sound it.

The alley canted off to the right. Roy followed, hearing Riza's gun cocking behind him. Would Maes already have out one of his knives? Probably but Roy didn't look back. He could hear Al's large frame following him. In front of him, Ed trying to shield a handful of children from a pale man with a gun. No wonder Ed had sounded off. He couldn't do the alchemy he relied on so heavily, not with his arm missing.

"Just march back to the warehouse like good brats or I'll provide Martin with another legless kid."

"Go to hell. You don't scare us," Ed barked back.

"You don't frighten any of us either," Roy said. "Your sick fun is over, Hograth. Why don't you just put the gun down or make me happy, point it at someone who isn't a helpless child."

Hograth spun around, his pale face infusing with blood, turning a splotchy red. "Mustang."

"You remember me. I should be flattered. It took a lot of research to bring your name back to mind," Roy replied, knowing Riza already had a bead on this fool.

"Al?" Ed broke in over them. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like, brother?"

"Should have known you'd come sniffing around." Hograth trained the gun on Roy, completely ignoring Alphone as the boy edged around the outside of the group, trying to get between the kids and the gunman. To Roy, that just proved how smart Al was and how dumb Nick still was. "You looking for the amputee shrimp? He's a freak like you. You training him up like Dad did you?" Hograth licked his lower lip.

"Mere boys don't interest me." Roy shrugged. "Besides, that one bites."

"DOES HE THINK YOU AND ME…" Ed lurched forward but one of the Ishbalan boys caught his shirt, hauling him back.

"Shall I shoot him, sir?" Riza asked.

"Only if necessary. I think I can handle him." Roy smirked at Hograth. Nick's face darkened further. Roy knew finally it was him frightening the bully instead of the other way around. "Put the gun down, idiot. You're not getting out of here."

"Maybe not but I can still have the fun of shooting you." Hograth glanced at Riza. "Not like I'm afraid of a woman."

"You should be." Roy snapped before the idiot could actually work up the brain power to pull the trigger. The gun went flying as Nick flailed around, shrieking. Roy concentrated to be sure the fool didn't fan the flames too hot. The Ishbalan children screamed. Damn, he had totally forgotten about them in his quest to get revenge on Hograth. He was an idiot. Roy doused the flames.

"You almost singed me, bastard!" Ed spat.

"Those flames were nowhere near you," Roy said as Riza swooped past him to help Maes handcuff Hograth.

"You could have melted my watch. The bastard has it!" Ed flailed his remaining arm around.

"It's okay," Al said to the Ishbalan children. "The colonel won't hurt you. He just wanted to stop the bad guy."

"He's supposed to be the bad guy," one of the boys said.

"He's not," Al replied.

"How do I know _you're_ not a bad guy?" the kid asked.

"He's my brother," Ed said. "Who shouldn't be here!"

"Me? You're the one who got caught just like the colonel said you would. We've been up all night and day trying to find you," Al pushed Ed's shoulder. "Look at you, brother. Winry is going to _kill_ you and mulch the garden with what's left of you."

"Al," Ed whined.

"I mean it, brother. You could have been killed or worse," Al pointed to Hograth. "He could have done all sorts of things to you…using stuff."

"Stuff? Bastard, what did you tell my little brother?" Ed roared.

Roy waved him off. "You really are a mess, Edward. I wouldn't want to be you when your lovely young mechanic sees this." Roy glanced down at Hograth, swallowing back an urge to kick him. He dug out Ed's watch from the man's damp pocket then shoved it into his own. "Did you wet yourself, Nick? Really?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Hograth glared, even though he had wet himself. "That's more your thing, you little fucker."

"Nice." Hughes hauled the man up and handed him off to some of the soldiers who had finally caught up with them. "Get him out of here."

"Edward, who are your friends?" Roy said, edging a little closer to the younger alchemist and the Ishbalans who huddled against the wall.

"Rabi, Maen, Hadya and Usman," Ed said, pointing them out. "Don't worry guys, he isn't going to bite you."

"We're going to help you all," Riza said.

"I'd like a doctor to have a look at you and we'll get you some food and clothing," Roy promised.

"And get you home." Hughes went over to the older of the Ishbalan boys who didn't quail. "Rabi, I've met your mother and sister. They'll be so happy to see you again."

Rabi looked between Hughes and Roy. "You two know my mom? You can get me home?"

Roy cautiously touched the boy's shoulder. "You have my word, you'll all get home."

Rabi let out a bubbling sob, grabbing onto Roy's jacket. He buried his face against Roy who rubbed the boy's back.

"I know…you had to be so frightened," Roy said lowly. "I know what these people can do but they will never hurt you again. I promise." Roy let the frightened boy cry. He looked over at Edward. "Seriously, Edward, we need to get you to a mechanic in town just to get the ragged edges of that thing dealt with."

"Al can transmute it. If Winry sees another mechanic's hand on this, she'll kill me," Ed protested. 

"Should have thought of that before you disobeyed my orders." Roy shrugged, letting Rabi step back. "I _told_ you this would happen but did you listen? What would have happened if Hughes and I hadn't found you this fast?"

"In case you missed it, I escaped on my own," Ed glared. "And saved the kids."

"And nearly got shot," Riza pointed out.

"And lost your arm," Hughes added.

"And you made me worry." Al gave an amazing impression of a murderous gaze. "All because you couldn't listen. Remember what Teacher always said? You're too impatient."

Ed's lower lip stuck out. "Still saved us."

"Yes, fine, don't worry Edward, a formal reprimand will be put in your file along with the fact you rescued the kids," Roy said. "Who knows, maybe you'll earn yourself a medal."

"Oh, shut up."

"Come on, let's get everyone checked out. Hughes needs to go and get started on interrogating these criminals and we need to see if they managed to capture Lauren, too." Roy tried not to let his disappointment in not getting to singe Lauren show. "I promise you guys, we will get you home as soon as we can."

"You can trust him," Ed said, turning to the Ishbalans. "Even if he is a jerk."

"Brother, be nice. The colonel saved you," Al said.

Roy let them fall into bickering. His mind was already on how to keep the Ishbalan kids safe from the military and how to get them back home like he promised. He was not about to break his word.

Maes convinced Roy to stay back a bit, even if he was dressed casually. Maram could recognize the alchemist and might cause troubles. Somehow Roy had managed to twist Knox's arm into checking out the kids and sheltering them for the day while he and Maes sorted things out. They were traumatized mentally but physically there shouldn't be any lasting damage. Together, with Christmas' help, they swept the kids along to meet Shanti and Maram in the park. Without Ed around, the kids steadily grew more nervous. Maes wanted to pass them off before someone did something foolish.

He wasn't surprised to see Shula with Maram and Shanti. At the sight of his family members, Rabi broke away from the back, running toward them shouting their names. Maes wasn't too surprised either to see Roy edging closer than he promised. "Shanti, as you can see, we found them, well, some of them."

"Hadya and Usman were only captured the night before last," Roy called.

Maes turned, glaring at him. He should have known Roy couldn't keep quiet. "Sadly the others were sold. We're still trying to track down any of those still alive."

Shanti looked at them, stunned. "You really did it. Maes, Roy…you really brought the children back."

"We said we would," Maes reminded her. "We're not done yet. Beckert and Mudica didn't buy all the ones the Hograths took. We're trying to find them."

Maram shook free of her son, leaving Shula surrounded by the passel of kids. She took Maes's hand. "You brought my son back. I can never repay you."

"You owe me nothing. I wish I could say we found him before they hurt him," Maes replied, his voice cracking.

Tears collected in the older woman's eyes. "Shanti told me the type of people you were dealing with. I understand…I don't want to but I do." She looked past Maes to Roy. "You, you're him, aren't you? Shanti said the flame alchemist might come with Mr. Hughes. But…you aren't at all what I was expecting."

Roy came over to Maes's side. "I'm Flame."

Maram looked him over. "Small…I thought you would be so much bigger. Why did you help my son?"

"Because it was the right thing to do," Roy said.

"He knew the guy," Rabi offered, staring at Roy. "At least, I think so."

"Once, when I was a child," Ro whispered.

"The ring leader's father was the same sort of man," Shanti said. "He was Mustang's stepfather."

"Until he murdered my mother," Roy said, squaring his shoulders. "I had no idea his children were doing this or that they were in Central. I don't even live here. I came to help Hughes."

"I'm glad you did." Maram stared at Roy harder. "You had a reputation, you and an alchemist who moved stone, for not hurting non-combatants. When we ran, we prayed if we had to cross an alchemist, it would be you two."

"I had no idea they thought that about you, Roy," Shanti said.

"I didn't either. I did try. I won't make apologies for the war. They'll all ring false," Roy said. "I can't take any of it back but I'm glad I was able to do something good this time."

Maram took his hand. "We won't forget what either of you just did for us."

"Thank you," Roy said and Maes heard the emotion choking him.

"Do you think you can get all these kids back with you safely? I'd offer an escort to the edge of town if you want it," Maes said.

"We'll manage. Thank you again," Maram said, turning back to the kids, herding them along.

"Maram, I need to talk to them for a moment. I'll catch up," Shanti said.

"Of course."

She eyed her foster brothers. "I might have been wrong about you, especially you Roy but…it's hard to forgive what you did in the war."

"Hell, Shanti, I haven't forgiven myself. I don't expect you to do differently," Roy replied, scrubbing a hand across his eyes.

"Are you all right?" Her fingers brushed his cheeks and Maes saw Roy flinch.

"I'm fine."

"He's a liar," Maes said. "He's been a mess since this started."

"But it's over and the last of the people who turned my life into a hell as a kid are never going to see the light of day again," Roy canted his eyes toward Maes. "And I might just be able to live with not killing them."

"You'd have felt guilty," Maes reminded him and Roy nodded. "We really are still looking for the kids they sold, Shanti."

"I believe you. Just let Christmas know if you do find them. She'll tell me," Shanti said. "I'd better catch up with Maram. Those kids will cause a stir. Roy, call Christmas more. She worries too much about you."

Roy smiled thinly. "I will. Take care of yourself, Shanti."

"I always do. Bye, Hughes. Congrats on being a dad," Shanti called, heading off.

"Thank you." Maes turned to Roy, patting his shoulder. "I think you need to go home Roy."

"Back East? That'll never be home," Roy protested. "But yes, I'm ready to go. Before that, I'd like to go visit the madam again, maybe make use of the upstairs apartment before I herd Edward off to see his mechanic. He's dragging his heels."

"Because he knows he's going to get yelled at." Maes chuckled. "And I'm sure Riza will like to hear you're going to make use of that apartment. Shall we go call her now?"

"Oh, hell yes. I need to relax after the last two days."

"Don't we all, Roy. Don't we all."

"Edward, I don't want to hear any more arguments," Roy said, shifting on Maes's couch, balancing a piece of Gracia's apple pie on a small plate on his knee. "Haven't you learned a lesson yet?"

"Sometimes he's slow. Besides, he doesn't want to face Winry," Alphonse said wryly.

"Then Ed's out of luck. Roy already called Pinako and told her Ed's arm has a mishap," Maes said, cradling Elicia in his arms.

"Why! Why would you do that?" Ed sat up straight in the chair, almost unbalancing himself.

"Because I promised that poor old woman I'd look out for you and she sort of frightens me." Roy's lips pursed around the fork as he took a bite of pie, a happy sound echoing around the tines.

"Some soldier you are, scared of an old bat," Ed grumbled.

"Edward, women are always more terrifying than anything else." Roy pointed to Riza with the fork. "Ask anyone back in my office who they're more afraid of me or Hawkeye."

"Don't make me shoot you in front of the baby, sir," Riza said sweetly and Roy beamed at her.

"Riza, I do admire your ability to make these men kow tow," Gracia said, nudging her husband's shoulder. "Sometimes they can so awful."

"Even me?" Maes pouted at her.

"You're the biggest instigator of all." Gracia tapped his chin.

Roy laughed. "She knows you too well, buddy." He turned his attention to the one-armed wonder. "Edward, don't make me escort you all the way to Resembool because I will."

"Why can't you just leave me alone? I know I have to go back. I _do_ want my arm, you know." Ed scowled. "You didn't have to call and worry them."

"Edward, they worry anyhow," Gracia said. "They love you."

"You're just lucky I dissuaded Dr. Rockbell from coming out here though I think her granddaughter really wanted to," Roy mused.

"Oh, hell no," Ed groaned. "You can't let them come here. I'll never hear the end of it."

"He said he made them stay home, brother."

"It wasn't easy. I think maybe that sweet young lady wanted to come shopping. She did take a real liking to you, Riza." Roy grinned.

"The feeling is mutual," Riza replied.

"Winry doesn't like to shop unless it's for tools and automail," Ed sniffed.

"Edward, women are more than just their jobs. Hawkeye is an amazing marksman but she doesn't spend every waking hour thinking about bullets," Roy said. "Central has so much that we don't get back East. It's always fun to go poke around some place knew."

"Maybe you should call back and invite them, Roy. It'd be nice to meet Ed and Al's family." Maes grinned.

Ed flailed though Roy had to admit it lacked a certain something with only one arm. "Mrs. Hughes is right. You are an instigator!"

"Not a bad idea, Maes. I'll call her in the morning." Roy set his plate down.

"You are the most annoying man in the world. Do not make an old lady come out here," Ed fumed.

"Yes, sir, please let them kill Edward in the privacy of their own home." Al couldn't hide the mirth in his voice.

"Al," Ed whined.

"Don't tease the boys," Gracia said. "Ed's been through enough, so has Alphonse."

"If Edward listened to reason." Roy shrugged. "I'm just glad we got them all."

"What will happen with those horrible people now?" Gracia asked.

"Yeah, I want to know that, too. After what they put me through," Ed said.

"A trial," Maes replied. "I don't think they'll ever see the light of day again. The two who were killing the kids might find a similar fate in store for them."

"Good," Roy mumbled and Riza reached over, putting a hand on his ever so briefly. "I still regret not killing him. I don't think I would have felt guilty…and that's the part that actually scares me."

"That's because you alchemists have too much power at your disposal. I'm sure it is frightening to realize what you could do. Here, think on a little happiness." Maes got up and put Elicia in Roy's arms.

"Maes! I'm no good at this."

"Practice makes perfect. One day you'll have some of your own."

"Ugh, no, that can never happen." Ed shuddered. "One of him is enough. Don't encourage him to breed."

"What would you know about it? You can't even see the advantage of having young ladies visit you," Roy sniffed, shifting Elicia in his arms knowing Maes was going for the camera _again_.

"If Winry came here, it wouldn't be to be sweet to me," Ed said.

"I wonder why. Oh right, because you're clueless. You're barely old enough to know where all your parts are," Roy said.

"That's instigating again," Riza put in wearily, stroking Elicia's head.

"Can't help myself. I've been in a very bad mood and this makes me feel better," Roy replied. "The instigating, not the baby, though she really is sweet. Babies make me nervous. I'm always afraid I'll do something wrong."

"You're doing fine, Roy," Gracia assured him.

"Scared of old women and babies, yeah you're a real threat there, Flame." Ed sniffed then a grave expression passed over his face. "That guy, his whole family hurt you bad, didn't they? I could see why you'd want to hurt him back."

Roy glanced over at Hughes, startled. He saw the guilty expression on his best friend's face and realized at some point he had to have told Ed what had happened. Somehow, Roy wasn't angry about it. "Yes, they did Edward. They didn't just take my mom from me. They took things from me that I couldn't ever get back. It's why I wanted you to get to safety."

"I'm sorry, sir," Al mumbled.

"Yeah, I should have listened," Ed said and Roy knew it was as close to an apology as he was going to get.

"You need to learn to trust that I _do_ occasionally know what I'm talking about, Edward. I don't normally make decisions arbitrarily. I made them a little too emotionally here, but they were still the right choices," Roy said.

Ed turned away. "I know."

"But it's over now," Maes said. "The good guys won. We might not have won fast enough to save everyone but those responsible will be punished. Now, Roy, Riza, look here."

"Are you going to blind me with a flash?" Roy whined.

"Absolutely."

Roy willingly put up with the taking of photos before passing Elicia off to Riza. He was secretly glad Riza looked as awkward as he did with the baby. He felt less alone in his domestic clumsiness. Madam Christmas had never made him deal with any of his sisters' babies and Roy had gone to live with Hawkeye at a young age. He just didn't know anything about babies.

Of course, compared to Edward, Roy looked like a genius. Then again, the boy only had one arm but Roy refused to let that reality color his joy at not being the only person who didn't know how to hold a baby. Al did better but quickly put Elicia back in his brother's lap.

"Why do you want a picture of me," Ed whined. "I can't even hold her right."

"It's fine, Edward. Smile and I'll give you a copy of the picture of Elicia vomiting on Roy," Maes said and Ed's smile probably frightened children three cities away it was so big.

"Great, Hughes. It'll look like you let your precious baby in the arms of a maniac." Roy gestured at Ed.

"Uh…something just got really warm and wet." Ed grimaced looking down in his lap. "Ewww. The diaper leaked."

"Oh dear. That happens." Gracia scooped her daughter up. "Come on, Edward. You can change your pants and I'll wash them for you. I have…well, Maes's pants will be too long for you."

"So will yours, Gracia," Roy whooped. "Maybe you should give him a skirt for the interim."

"Oh, shut up" Ed snarled.

"I'm sure we can work out something. Alphonse, would you like to come help me with Elicia. It'll be nice to have a helping hand from someone who doesn't gag through the whole process," Gracia said brightly.

"I only do that on poopy diapers. I can handle pee," Maes protested.

"Of course you can, dear." Gracia said, herding the brothers upstairs.

"Is it wrong that it just made my day that Elicia peed on Ed?" Roy asked.

"Yes." Riza stifled a laugh then kissed him. "But it's so very you."

"Yes, it is." Maes put a hand on Roy's shoulder. "How are you doing really, Roy? You still look…piqued."

"I'll be fine, Maes. This puts a complete end to the horrible things that happened to me and my sister. I have to call her yet and let her know." Roy sighed, leaning against Riza for a moment. "I still won't be able to hear rain without thinking of them but I'll be okay."

Maes glanced toward the stairs then leaned down to kiss Roy. "That's what I wanted to hear."

Roy smiled under Maes's lips then gently pushed him back before Ed or Al made a surprise reappearance. He went to the stairs and shouted up. "Hey, Edward."

Ed stomped to the top of the stairs, swamped by Maes's robe. "What?"

"You have one more day here in town. Go talk to Bishop and tell him you'll be back once your arm is repaired. Then we'll all ride back east together," Roy said.

"Why would I want to do that? Ride with you I mean."

"Because I said so. We're all going East and I'm going to make sure you go home."

"You just want to see if Winry will kill me." Ed wrinkled his nose.

"That's a bonus, yes." Roy grinned. Ed flashed him an obscene gesture then retreated back to where his brother and Gracia were wrestling with diapers.

Roy turned to his two lovers, wanting to just bury himself in their limbs. He went over and whispered to Riza, "I'm going back to the apartment tonight. Join me?"

A soft kiss was her answer.

He put a hand on Maes's arm. "I'll miss you."

"Don't worry. I'll call and I'll send you plenty of pictures." Maes grinned.

Roy pinched his brow. "I knew you would say that." He took a deep breath in. It was over. He still didn't truly know what to think about Nick and Lauren, didn't trust they would never bother him again but Roy knew he had to accept that his team had won. He could go back East, feeling good about that. He just wished he could stay in Central longer. He belonged here with Riza and Maes and his mother. Somehow, some day he would be back. Until then, Roy would content himself with his plans, annoying Ed, loving Riza and Maes, not to mention Gracia, when he could, maybe even playing with Elicia when he got the chance and always looking to the bright future they knew had to be waiting for them.


End file.
